All Stitched Up
by sweetsheart
Summary: Stein and Marie's daughter, Stitches, is now at the DWMA, but not without some challenges. Will she get the opportunity to blaze her own reputation, become a Deathscythe and find someone who looks past that little matter of her parents, all whilst not forgetting where she came from? SteinxMarie, KidxMaka, OCxOC. Story three in the 'Stitches' series.
1. Stitches' First Day

**A/N: Welcome to the third story in the Stitches series :D I didn't anticipate that I'd put this story up so quickly, but what the hell :)  
My one disclaimer for the entire story - I don't own Soul Eater, however, I do own Stitches, Mina, Thomas and Joseph.**

"Stitches Stein?" The Class Crescent Moon teacher, Maka, called out. Stitches looked up.

"Present." she called back, nervously. Maka gave out a little smile and continued down the list. Mina turned to Stitches.

"You alright, Stitches?" Mina asked, her red hair falling over her face.

"Yeah." Stitches sighed.

"Mina West?" Maka called out, continuing roll call.

"Yo, Maka-sensei." Mina said. Maka laughed quietly slightly and continued with the roll call.

"Yo? It's our first day at a prestigious institution, and all you can say is 'Yo'?" Stitches asked. Mina laughed.

"Well, I had to balance you out, a little. Maka-sensei met you twenty minutes after Marie pushed you out and you go all formal and 'present'-like." Mina smirked. Stitches sighed and rolled her eyes with a tiny smile.

"Alright, class, if I could have your attention, please?" Maka asked. The class all turned to face her.

"Alright, I apologise if I'm a little nervous today. You are the first E.A.T class I've taken by myself, so that's a milestone. Plus, I've left my three-year-old son with my father. If you've ever met my father, you'll understand my apprehension." Maka said. Stitches, being one of the few people in the room who had met Spirit Albarn, stifled a giggle.

"Alright. So, first of all, what we want to do is separate you into meisters and weapons. So, if you want to make your way down here, if we have meisters on the left and weapons on the right, then we'll begin." Maka said. The students all walked to the front and separated into their respective groups.

Stitches, split from Mina, made her way over and stood next to a tall, purple-haired girl. She turned around and glanced Stitches up and down.

"You must be the Stein kid, right?" she asked. Stitches nodded. The girl, although she was obviously older than Stitches, seemed very laid-back, so Stitches didn't feel quite as shy.

"The one, the only. I think." she said. The purple-haired girl snickered.

"Cleo. Nice to meet you." Cleo stuck her hand out. Stitches shook it and shoved her hands back in her pockets.

"Form?" Stitches asked. Cleo smirked.

"Plain ol' scythe. You?" Cleo asked.

"Hammer." Stitches smiled. Cleo laughed slightly.

"You're gonna get so many pick up lines referring to that, you know that, right?" Cleo asked. Stitches smirked.

"I got one this morning. My father dispelled that boy pretty quickly, however." Stitches said. Cleo smirked.

"Overprotective dad? Yeah, I got me one of those. That's why I dyed my hair purple and got this." Cleo poked her tongue out, showing her piercing. Stitches smirked slightly.

"My dad's not that bad. I figure that it's kind of reasonable when he threatens a boy who's just asked me to hammer him." Stitches said. Cleo laughed and turned to the meisters.

"So," she asked, "you got a meister picked out yet?"

"Yeah, that one, right there, with the red hair. We've been best friends since the start of grade school." Stitches sighed. Cleo turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"So, who's the person who's put that seed of doubt in your mind?" Cleo asked. Stitches was taken slightly aback.

"Sorry?" Stitches asked.

"You sighed at the end of your sentence. So, who is it?" Cleo asked. Stitches sighed.

"See that blonde boy next to her?" Stitches asked. Cleo smirked.

"Got a little crush, eh?" Cleo asked.

"I resent your accusation." Stitches said.

"I'd not tell your dad about him. With a father like yours, he'd be unconscious like that." Cleo clicked her fingers. Stitches thought for a second. She would have retorted, but Cleo was right.

"It's kinda hard to keep your meister from your father when he's _my _father."

* * *

After class was over, Stitches took Cleo and caught up with Mina, Thomas and Joseph.

"Hey! How are you?" Mina asked.

"I'm pretty good. This is Cleo." Stitches said. The purple-haired girl stepped forward.

"Hey." she said.

"Hi. I'm Mina, this here quiet one's Thomas, and that knucklehead is Joseph." Mina said, pointing to the oblivious black-haired boy behind her.

"Ah! There you are." Joseph said, sitting next to Mina, unaware of her comment. Mina smirked.

"Cool." Cleo smirked. She sat down next to Stitches, who sat next to Mina.

"I'm glad that Maka-sensei didn't call out those with versatile souls today." Stitches sighed.

"Stitches, you've really got to get used to getting called out in class. You're a brilliant weapon, with a versatile soul. And your mother is Marie-freakin'-Mjolnir and your father is Franken-freakin'-Stein." Mina smirked.

"So, you're a versie too?" Cleo asked Stitches. Stitches turned to her and nodded.

"Blame my father." Stitches sighed.

"My mother was the Shibusen alumna." Cleo said. Stitches nodded.

"My mother's where I got my weapon form from, so…" Stitches said. Cleo raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, what's your form again?" Cleo asked.

"I'm a hammer." Stitches said. Cleo's eyes widened.

"So _you're_ the little _family circumstance_ that kept Marie Mjolnir from going back to Oceania all those years ago." Cleo said.

"Sometimes I'm convinced that everyone else knows my parents better than I do." Stitches said.

"Well, you've Franken Stein for a father and a Deathscythe for a mother. It's bound to happen." Cleo said. Stitches smirked and shrugged before sitting down.

"So, have you got a meister picked out?" Stitches asked. Cleo nodded.

"Speaking of, I'd better go and find him. I'll see you around, Stein." Cleo said, standing up and walking off. Stitches nodded and turned to Mina.

"So, you've stopped being painfully shy, hey?" Mina asked.

"Oh, no. Cleo was just at the back of the group and asked me if I was 'the Stein kid.'" Stitches said.

"Wow, I wonder how she got _that_ idea. The grey hair, the glasses, the fact that you look basically like your dad, but with boobs…" Mina said.

"One, that is wrong on _so_ many levels. Two, my hair is silver." Stitches said. Mina chuckled slightly.

"You told that to me on our first day of grade school." Mina smiled. Stitches smiled back in reminiscence.

"I can't believe we've finally made it to Shibusen." Stitches said.

"Well, get used to it, because we're here for a while." Mina replied.

* * *

Stein and Marie sat across from Spirit, who had his three year old grandson on his lap.

"You really need to stop worrying, you two." Spirit said. Stein rolled his eyes.

"This is coming from the man who cried every time Maka went out on a mission." Stein said. Spirit snarled.

"Shut up." Spirit said. Marie was worried, but preoccupied herself with the adorable little shinigami child in front of her.

"Hey, Junior. How are you? Where's your mama?" Marie asked. Junior smiled widely.

"Being a teacher." he said, proudly. His hair, which was just like his father's, fell over his green eyes.

"She is, isn't she?" Marie smiled.

"So, when are you two going back to teach at Shibusen?" Spirit asked.

"We're only taking today off. We thought Stein would be in too much of an emotional state to teach today." Marie said. Stein glared at Marie.

"You're hilarious." Stein remarked. Marie smiled.

"You love me." Marie said to Stein.

"I wonder how she's doing, though." Stein said.

"See…?" Marie said, looking over at Spirit.

"I'm not in an emotional state!" Stein exclaimed. Marie smirked slightly before going back and paying attention to Junior.

"Hi, there!" Marie said. Junior smiled and giggled slightly, causing Marie to gush.

"Do you want to hold him, Marie?" Spirit asked. Marie nodded and patted her lap. The young shinigami scuttled off of his grandfather and onto the beckoning Deathscythe.

"Hi." he smiled. Marie was absolutely, positively in maternal mode at the moment. That was probably because she was trying to take her mind off of her own daughter; if she kept thinking about the fact that she was now fending for herself at Shibusen, she'd probably break down.

"Hi there! Hello." Marie said in a baby voice, tapping Junior on the nose. Spirit smirked and looked over at Stein.

"Hey. She seems pretty damn smitten with a toddler on her lap…" Spirit said. Stein shot him a glare.

"Do _not_ even put that idea into her head." Stein said.

"Huh?" Marie asked. Stein's eyes widened.

"Nothing." Stein said, insistently. Spirit smirked.

"I was just saying to Stein how you-_ow!_" Spirit exclaimed, Stein kicking him in the shin under the table. A wry smirk crawled across Stein's face and Junior giggled.

"Hey, don't encourage him." Marie said to the little boy. He just smiled and giggled again.

"Grandpa Spirit funny." he smiled.

**A/N: So, that chapter was just put there to get back into the swing of things. So, it's not actually that heavy a chapter. So, welcome back :) **

**To any new readers, well hello. You're probably mightily confused, right? **

**Well, just to recap, Stein and Marie had a little girl, Shelley Yumi Stein. We call her Stitches. She grew up, she's now thirteen and she's a weapon, a hammer, like Marie. That's really about it.**

**The next chapter finds Stitches in a predicament - who will be her meister? Make sure you vote on the poll on my author page and see if your prediction is right!**


	2. Miss Stein's Meister?

**A/N: So, what do you think? Mina or Thomas? Neither? Or maybe both?**

"Papa, you've got to help me." Stitches said, walking over and sitting down next to her father on the couch, slumping against him.

"What's wrong?" Stein asked. Marie walked into the room and sat across from the two as well.

"I've got to choose a meister." Stitches sighed. Marie looked on compassionately and Stein sighed.

"Unfortunately, I'm not going to be much help in that department. With a soul like mine, they just chucked me the most hopeless weapon." Stein said. Marie turned to Stein.

"You could _try_ to be nice to Spirit, Stein." Marie said.

"I could." Stein said. Marie smiled.

"But I won't." Stein continued. Marie glared at him and he smirked back at her.

"You're lucky I love you." Marie said, crossing her arms. Stitches sighed and slid further into the couch.

"What have I told you guys about proclaiming your love for each other in front of me?" Stitches asked.

"You are a child. We're adults. We can do whatever the hell we want." Stein said.

"Such sound parenting, Papa." Stitches said. Stein smirked at his daughter as Stitches turned to Marie.

"I thought you were going to choose Mina as your partner?" Marie asked. Stitches sighed.

"Well, I was… but now there's Thomas…" Stitches trailed off. Stein was taken slightly aback.

"You should definitely choose Mina." Stein said, adamantly. Stitches looked up at her father.

"And if Thomas was a girl?" Stitches asked.

"Well, then it would be different." Stein said. Stitches sighed and crossed her arms.

"Mama…" Stitches said, turning to her mother.

"You've got to decide; who can you work with better? And you've got to figure out, not only who can wield you, but who will you _allow_ to wield you?" Marie asked.

"Well, Mina and I have known each other for longer. Plus, our souls, though different, match well. But Thomas' soul is similar to mine; calm, collected." Stitches said.

"They seem to be equally compatible for you." Stein said.

"I blame you. You and your damn versatile soul. Usually, the soul chooses the meister. No, now _I_ have to do it. " Stitches crossed her arms.

"It'll be useful in the future, Stitches, you know that." Stein replied. Stitches nodded, sighed and flopped, upside-down, on the couch, hanging her head over the side and crossing her legs. She closed her eyes, letting her glasses fall over her forehead. Marie walked over to her daughter and sat down in front of her, cross-legged on the floor. She took a deep breath in.

"Stitches, do you want to know what I really think?" Marie asked.

"Please." Stitches replied.

"You and Mina used to play weapon and meister when you were little." Marie said, quietly. Stitches' eyes widened.

"Yeah…" Stitches said.

"Plus, Thomas may be too similar to you. You need Mina's soul perception abilities. You have them, but only to a certain extent. You're a tactician. Thomas is also a tactician. Mina's an adept fighter. You need that in a partnership." Marie said. Stitches smiled slightly.

"I…I think you're right, Mama." Stitches said. Marie smiled and kissed her daughter on the forehead as she sat up.

"Plus. Shibusen frowns upon weapons dating their meisters whilst they're still learning." Marie whispered, smirking. Stitches broke out in a slight blush and giggled nervously before Stein caught on to what the women were conspiring about.

"In that case, you should choose Thomas." Stein said, insistently. Marie smiled and shook her head.

"For all the ill you speak of Spirit, you sure are similar to him sometimes." Marie said. Stein glared up at Marie.

"Don't say that." he said, leaping to his feet. Stitches smirked and shook her head. The next day, she was going to choose her meister.

* * *

"Mina." Stitches said, walking up behind her best friend. They had just finished a school day at Shibusen, and Stitches had run to catch up with her red-headed best friend.

"Yo, Stitches." Mina turned to see Stitches, her arm outstretched, with her 'weapon' badge in her hand.

"Stitches…" Mina said, looking up at her friend. A grin crawled across Stitches' face.

"Will you be my meister?" Stitches asked, her golden eyes expectant. Mina took the badge out of Stitches' hand, shoved it the pocket of her skirt and glanced Stitches up and down.

"I don't know… I guess you _might_ be skilled enough for me… I suppose." Mina smiled. Stitches let out a little squeal of content and threw her arms around Mina.

"We're going to make a _great_ team." Stitches said.

"I'm going to turn you into such a badass Deathscythe." Mina laughed. Stitches hugged her friend tightly before catching gaze of Thomas, walking out of the doors.

"Mina, I've got to go and talk to Thomas." Stitches said. Mina nodded.

"I'll see you tomorrow, weapon." She smirked.

"It sounds weird." Stitches said, backing away. Mina nodded and chuckled.

"It does, doesn't it?" Mina said, laughing. She turned away and gave a final wave. Stitches turned around and ran over to Thomas.

"Thomas!" Stitches called. The blonde boy stopped in his tracks, the breeze blowing both his shaggy hair and his scarf into his face.

"Oh, yeah, Stitches, hi." Thomas said, pulling the scarf out of his face. Stitches smiled slightly and took a step forward, brushing Thomas' blonde tresses out of his face.

"Thanks." he said, smiling meekly.

"I just wanted to ask," Stitches began, walking alongside Thomas down the stairs, "have you found a weapon yet?"

"Maka-sensei recommended that I partner with Joseph. He's a pistol, that's where my wielding power lies, so… Plus, he'll be too reckless without a sedate partner like me." Thomas said. Stitches automatically relaxed.

"That's good, Thomas. I… I was going to ask you, but we're very similar... perhaps even too similar." Stitches said. Thomas nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I understand." Thomas said, quietly.

"But I still want to be friends." Stitches said, quickly. Thomas smiled and turned to the nervous looking hammer.

"Are you serious?" Thomas asked. Stitches' eyes widened.

"What?" Stitches asked, her eyes trembling.

"Of course we're still gonna be friends, silly." Thomas leant forward and hugged the silver-haired teen, and she gave a small shudder of relief as he did. They pulled away and Stitches looked up at him, blinking and blushing.

"Plus… Shibusen doesn't like it if weapons are romantically involved with their meisters, so…" Stitches said, quietly blushing. Thomas stopped for a second.

"I meant that, just as a general fact, of course." Stitches smiled. Thomas grinned and nodded.

"Of course. I'd expect no less from you, Miss Stein." he replied. Stitches turned to him.

"Alright. I've got to run. But I'll see you later, yeah?" Stitches asked. Thomas nodded and watched as Stitches ran down the rest of the stairs and down the street. He stopped for a second.

"_Does she…like me?_" Thomas thought to himself. A dumbstruck smile appeared across his face before Joseph ran up behind him, throwing his arm around his new meister.

"Tom, my boy! What did the Silver Fox have to say to you today?" Joseph asked, chuckling. Thomas smiled slightly.

"She said she was considering asking me to be her meister… but she said that Shibusen frowns upon weapons being in relationships with their meisters." Thomas said. Joseph's eyes widened.

"Holy crap, Thomas! You're in, man!" Joseph said.

"I'm not 'in.' Besides, even if she _does_ like me, her father… he'd kill me." Thomas said.

"Yes. Yes, he would. But you might get to touch her boobs _before_ you die." Joseph smirked. Thomas punched Joseph in the arm, taking him aback slightly.

"Don't say that about her. She's more than just _boobs_. She's nice. And smart…" Thomas began.

"Geez, man. You're so soppy. Go and write it in your journal." Joseph smirked. Thomas sighed.

"You're such a gentleman, Joseph." Thomas replied.

"I know. I try," Joseph smirked, starting to run down the stairs, "Race you!"

"You're on!" Thomas said, taking after his weapon.

* * *

Stitches pushed open the doors of the laboratory, her bag slung over her shoulder.

"Hiya, hiya?" she called. All she got in response was a mumbled groan.

"Don't leap up to see me or anything, Papa. Wouldn't want you to strain yourself." Stitches drawled.

You can imagine her surprise when her father came rolling quickly backwards on his chair, a wide, cheesy grin on his face. She was even more surprised when he stood up and hugged her, her feet leaving the ground for a few seconds in the middle. When he put her down, his expression returned to its normal state as he regained his seat.

"See? Wasn't that weird?" Stein asked. Stitches crossed her arms and huffed.

"Why can't I just have a normal father? Why?" Stitches asked. Stein ruffled Stitches' hair, much to her discontent.

"Because you've got me, that's why." Stein replied. Stitches sat forward on the chair across from her father, her eyes wide in expectation.

"So, what do you want to tell me?" Stein asked, noticing her anticipatory stance. Stitches smiled.

"I chose my meister today." Stitches said. Stein sighed and crossed his arms.

"Who is it?" he asked. Stitches smirked and emulated her father's stance.

"It's Mina, Papa. You don't have to kill anyone." Stitches smirked. Stein tried and failed to hide a sigh of relief. Stitches rolled her eyes and stood up from her seat.

"If I ever get a boyfriend, you're going to die of stress, aren't you?" Stitches asked, walking off into her room.

"Not until you're thirty-two, young lady." Stein called. Stitches chuckled and threw her satchel bag down on her bed.

"Whatever you say, Papa." Stitches said, flopping onto her bed and resting her head on her hands.

She couldn't believe it. Now she had a meister. She was going to collect souls, and one day, maybe, just maybe, become a Deathscythe.

Or something like that.

**A/N: So, her meister is Mina :D**


	3. Learning To Resonate

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to nobody in particular. **

Stitches walked into the classroom that day knowing exactly what was happening. Throughout the day, pairs were to be assigned to a teacher and were to begin learning resonation. She walked into the classroom and past a giggling group of girls who were all discussing the teachers they wanted for resonation.

"Well, _I _want Doctor Stein." one girl said. Stitches stopped, even though she was almost certain she was going to regret it.

"But, isn't he a bit… y'know… _crazy_?" another girl asked. The other girl giggled and sighed.

"Well, yeah, a little… but, come on. He's hot." she replied.

The look of sheer horror on Stitches' face was noticed by Mina, who couldn't help but laugh as Stitches stormed up to her seat, the look of horror not shifting.

"What's wrong, sunshine?" Mina asked, a smirk on her face. Stitches shuddered and sat in her seat, looking at Mina.

"I… I am deeply disturbed." Stitches said, still shocked at what she had just heard.

"Why now?" Mina asked. Stitches shook her head.

"I can't… I can't even repeat it." Stitches said, looking over at the girls who had disturbed her. Mina looked over and nodded knowingly.

"_Oh…_ you overheard your dad's groupies, didn't you?" Mina said. Stitches turned to Mina and narrowed her eyes.

"Papa doesn't have _groupies_." Stitches said. Mina chuckled.

"So, what did you overhear?" Mina asked. Stitches shuddered.

"I don't even… why would they… no!" Stitches said, incredulously. Mina sighed and crossed her arms.

"Come on, Stitches. Your dad's pretty-"

"_No!_ No, no, no, don't even go there! He's not… no! He's… he's my father, for goodness' sake!" Stitches exclaimed. Mina chucked and threw her head back.

"Well, Mama Mjolnir liked it." Mina said. Stitches growled and smacked Mina on the back of the head.

"Your dad's classically hot, Stitches. Deal with it." Mina smirked.

"Oh, yeah, women have been falling over the screw and stitches for decades." Stitches slouched and growled. Just then, Maka began calling out names.

"Okay, Thomas, Joseph, you've got Sid-sensei." Maka said. The fair-haired meister and his dark-haired weapon moved out into the hallway. Maka then called out the next pair.

"Mina, Stitches, Doctor Stein will be teaching you two." Maka said. Stitches and Mina stood up and heard the audible sighs from the girls Stitches had walked past earlier. Walking past again, Mina couldn't help but give a small wry smile to the disappointed students.

Unfortunately for Mina, Stitches noticed.

And, even more unfortunately for Mina, Stitches had her mother's temper.

* * *

"Resonance." Stein read out as he wrote the word on the blackboard. Mina was clutching the rapidly bruising spot on her arm and Stein happened to notice.

"What happened to you?" he asked. Mina glared over at her weapon.

"Your daughter happened, Doc." Mina said. Stein looked over at Stitches.

"What are the rules about fighting when there's no teacher around to umpire the spar?" he asked her. Stitches narrowed her eyes.

"Technically, Maka-sensei was there." Stitches replied. Stein sighed.

"Why did you punch her anyway?" Stein asked. '

"Because we were talking about how half the girls think yo-"

"Don't think I won't punch you again." Stitches snarled, causing Mina to giggle.

"What are you two on about?" Stein asked, completely confused at the situation before him.

"Never mind, Doc. Anyway, resonance?" Mina asked. Stein shook his head and sighed.

"Fine," he began, "well, do you two know what soul resonance is, exactly?" Stein asked. Stitches and Mina nodded.

"Soul resonance is when a weapon and meister make a connection between their two souls in order to completely harness their power." Stitches said. Stein nodded.

"Right. Soul resonance is going to be your number one, base technique as weapon and meister." Stein said.

"Resonance requires complete concentration; your concentration slips, your mind slips. Your mind slips, your technique slips. And if your technique slips, then that could be the difference between you coming home on your feet or in a body bag." Stein said. The girls were taken slightly aback.

"Alright, you two, come down here." Stein said. The girls stood from their seats and walked down to stand in front of Stein.

"So, there's no way I can _tell_ you how to resonate. You have to will your soul to resonate; it's not simply a matter of control on each other, it's about control from _within_." Stein said. The girls both nodded.

"You ready?" Mina turned to Stitches. Stitches nodded and, in a flash of blue light, transformed fully. She differed slightly from her mother's full form, which was a tonfa. She was more like her mother's half form; a traditional hammer; She was about a foot in diameter, a large, octagonal hammer with a handle about a foot and a half long.

"Ready." the disembodied voice of Stitches called.

"Don't be discouraged if you cannot resonate yet; it doesn't mean that you won't. Very few people can resonate on their first go. In fact, Spirit and I couldn't resonate for a long while. I still maintain it was his fault." Stein said. Mina smirked slightly. She wasn't threatened by the doctor; she'd known him for nearly as long as she'd known Stitches.

"Do we start to try now, Doc?" Mina asked.

"Whenever you're ready." Stein said, sitting on his chair and resting his head on his hands, analysing the situation.

"Stitches!" Mina called.

"Mina!" Stitches called back. Mina squeezed her eyes shut and took a firm grip of Stitches' handle.

"_Soul's Resonance!_" the two called in unison.

Stein studied the two souls before him. Stitches; a collected, methodical soul, and Mina; a wild, uninhibited soul. Together, they reined each other in, but in doing so, unleashed their true power.

A connection began to form, though only from Mina's soul. Stitches' soul was… receding?

This wasn't good.

"_Stitches!_" Stein called, but it was too late.

In a flash of blue and with an almighty crack, Stitches flew out of Mina's hands and towards the high ceiling. Mina screamed.

"Get back!" Stein yelled, rolling underneath the now falling hammer.

Mina complied, crouching down behind a row of desks. Crackles of blue electricity were still covering Stitches' form. Stein extended his palm, launching his wavelength into an orb above his head. Stitches was sucked into the wavelength, the blue electricity dulling.

"Are you alright?" Stein asked, sticking his hand through the wavelength field and taking a hold of Stitches. She transformed back into human form and fell onto the floor, Stein having a hold of her wrist. She winced slightly and cracked her neck as she stood up.

"Stitches… What happened, Doc?" Mina asked, running over and checking that her friend was okay.

"Stitches' soul failed to make the connection." Stein said. Stitches' eyes widened.

"It's no comment on your abilities, Stitches. It's a comment on the fact that you're nervous about resonating." Stein said.

"Nervous? I'm not nervous! Shut up, Papa!" Stitches exclaimed.

Stein smirked inwardly; he could use this to Stitches' advantage. Her anger would cancel out her fear; sure, it was only a short term fix, but if she could resonate with the anger, then it would give her confidence. That should allow her to resonate without any problems next time.

"I don't know, your apprehension might just prevent you from resonating." Stein said.

"I'm not nervous!" Stitches exclaimed.

"Maybe it's just a sign that you're not quite ready to fight, Stitches." Stein said.

He saw the look in his daughter's eyes change. At first, it was anger and annoyance.

Now, it was a look of pure determination.

"Right." Stitches snarled, clenching her fists.

"Mina!" Stitches yelled. Mina stuck her hand out and Stitches quickly took her form. Mina looked over at Stein, who had a small smirk on his face. She could tell what he was doing.

"Don't stuff it up this time." Mina said. A grunt of discontent, one which any passer-by would _swear_ came from the mouth of Marie Mjolnir, erupted from the weapon.

"I won't!" Stitches yelled. Mina took a defensive stance and held Stitches in front of her chest.

"_Soul's Resonance!_" the two yelled.

Stein studied the souls once more; yes, this was better. Both the blue soul of his daughter and the yellow soul of Mina were reaching out to each other. Stein watched at the moment the two souls collided.

"Holy crap!" Mina called, a wide smile on her face. Mina was able to see the expansion of the soul response in front of her very eyes. Stein saw it from the outside; a large, green soul response.

"And…break resonance!" Stein called. The soul response immediately disappeared, leaving a hyperventilating Mina shakily holding Stitches in her grasp.

"_Holy crap._" Mina whispered. The colour began to fade from Mina's face. Stein's eyes widened and he stood from his chair, rolling it underneath Mina.

"Mina… Mina, are you alright?" Stitches asked, now back in human form. Mina smiled weakly and nodded, sliding down Stein's chair.

"That… was _awesome_." she huffed.

* * *

"Papa, is Mina going to be alright?" Stitches asked, walking alongside Stein up to the doors of the laboratory.

"She'll be fine. It's just because it's her first resonance. She got a little frenzied." Stein said.

"That's good." Stitches said.

"I'm impressed that you resonated, today." Stein said. Stitches looked up at her father.

"Do you usually piss off students like you did to me to get them to resonate?" Stitches asked. Stein went to open the door and smirked.

"No. It's just because you're my daughter. Special treatment." Stein said. Stitches rolled her eyes and walked through the door. Marie was sitting down on the couch. Stitches bounded over to her mother, kissed her on the cheek and threw her bag onto the couch, sitting next to her mother.

"Good afternoon, Mama." Stitches smiled widely.

"Why are you so happy?" Marie asked. Stitches looked up at her father, who in turn looked at Marie.

"_Someone_ decided to go all prodigal and resonate today." Stein said, sitting down on his chair. Marie turned to her daughter, her mouth open wide.

"No way!" Marie exclaimed. Stitches nodded.

"On the second go. On the first go, Mina kinda threw me and Papa had to catch me… but, other than that, it was _so cool!_" Stitches smiled. Marie hugged her daughter tightly.

"I'm so proud of you!" Marie said, kissing her daughter on the top of the head.

"Papa, though, in his _infinite wisdom_, decided to replace my fear with anger, though." Stitches said, crossing her arms and shooting a half-joking glance at her father.

"What?" Marie asked, turning to Stein.

"Well, the first time she and Mina tried to resonate, her soul wouldn't reach out. She was scared. So, I told her that she might be too scared to resonate." Stein said. Marie's eyes widened.

"That's cruel and unusual." Marie huffed.

"_I'm_ cruel and unusual." Stein said. Marie sighed and tried not to laugh.

"You're not _cruel_ and _unusual. _You're sweet, a-and…" Marie started, but Stein raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, no… Well… it worked, anyway." Marie said. Stein gave a small chuckled and Stitches nodded.

"Have any of your classmates resonated yet?" Stein asked. Stitches shook her head.

"Not yet. Half of them didn't even know how to wield their partners. But, I know that Thomas and Joseph were assigned to Sid-sensei." Stitches said.

"Oh, Sid told me about those two. They came close to resonating. The weapon, however… I'd use the term 'gun-shy,' but that'd be terribly close to a dad joke seeing as he's a pistol. So, let's just settle with 'They did not resonate.'" Stein said. Stitches shook her head and smirked.

"_Joseph_ was the one who couldn't resonate?" Stitches asked, incredulously.

"Apparently. That Thomas kid is quite talented, according to Sid." Stein said. Marie, who was now sitting next to Stitches, turned to her.

"Hear that, baby? He's talented too. I give you permission to marry him." Marie said. Stitches turned a red colour.

"Yes, but I don't." Stein piped up. Marie sighed and looked over at him.

"Yes, but if it was up to you, she'd be single until the day she died." Marie said. Stein nodded.

"And, the problem is…?" Stein began.

"Stein... See, this is why you don't talk about things with your father." Marie said, before whispering something else in Stitches' ear, causing her to giggle slightly.

"You two just _live _to conspire against me, don't you?" Stein asked. Stitches stood up and rested her hand on Stein's shoulder.

"Not exactly," Stitches began, "But, as your teenage daughter, I _am_ good at it."

**A/N: Aww, they resonated :)**

**So, this chapter is up quickly because I'm getting to the point in my final year of high school where I have a lot of assignments due. So, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but hold tight, my dearies - It will be here.**


	4. Mission Time Okay!

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my bed.  
Just a little note for this chapter. Stitches and Mina use an attack called 'Witch-hunt Smash.' It's not a typo, I just figured that Stitches isn't a scythe, she's a hammer. Scythes slash. Hammers ****smash****. :D**

This was it.

Mina held the small pocket mirror in front of her and her weapon. She traced '42-42-564' on it with her forefinger, and up came the visage of Shinigami-sama.

"Aha! Mina-chan, Stitches-chan!" Shinigami-sama said.

"Shinigami-sama, Mina West and Stitches Stein, reporting in from Death City East." Mina said. She may have been a reckless person, but when there was protocol to be followed, she followed it to a tee.

"Alright. Have you kept an eye on your target?" Shinigami-sama asked.

"Yes. The Grey Maiden's soul response is near." Mina said. Shinigami-sama nodded.

"Good luck, girls. The Grey Maiden shouldn't be too much of a challenge for you. Her soul has only recently turned into a Kishin egg, but anyone with a Kishin egg soul can escalate. Capture her soul whilst it is still inexperienced!" Shinigami-sama said.

"Yes, Shinigami-sama. We will." Mina said. The mirror went blank and Mina put it back in her pocket.

"Why is he so enthusiastic about everything?" Mina asked. Stitchtes raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"I don't know." she replied. Mina gave a little smirk, but something changed in her eyes very quickly. Her weapon noticed.

"What is it?" she asked.

"She's close. Transform, just to be safe." Mina said. Stitches nodded and transformed, Mina catching her.

"Alright, so, remind me about this Grey Maiden." Mina said.

"Of course," Stitches said, "The Grey Maiden invaded a small village, took three lives; three human souls. This was enough to turn her soul into a Kishin egg. She's not very dextrous, but when she hits, she hits hard. A perfect mission for melee fighters."

"Like you." Mina said.

"Like me." Stitches replied. Just as Mina went to turn a corner, she stopped.

"Mina?" Stitches asked.

"Shh, she's around the corner." Mina whispered, sensing her soul.

Mina looked around the corner and saw the Grey Maiden.

She looked human, but then again, she was facing away from them. She wore a long, Victorian-style grey dress, with long, wavy black hair.

She obviously sensed the two, and she turned around. A maniacal sneer crossed her face as she was faced by the teenagers.

"Kiddies… I'm going to _love_ watching you squirm!" she moaned. She seemed to hover, but she did so slowly.

Mina turned Stitches so that the head of the hammer was resting against the back of her arm.

Stein had discovered that Mina's greatest power was her Soul Menace ability. Mina's main technique in training was similar to Stein's; block with Stitches and hit with Soul Menace. This technique was extremely effective due to the heavy, defensive nature of Stitches' weapon form.

However, Stitches and Mina really came into their own when they resonated.

Having already learnt several techniques, they were quite skilled. They were also at an advantage due to the unusual nature of Stitches' weapon form. Most opponents were expecting a Witch-Hunt Slash here and there, but a hammer would jolt them. Even the teachers had to do a little research on hammer techniques, seeing as the last hammer to come through Shibusen was Stitches' mother.

"Grey Maiden, it's hammer time." Mina said, running towards the opponent.

"Did you _really _just say that?" Stitches yelled. Mina tightened her grip on Stitches' handle and held her out in front of her.

"Not now, Stitches!" Mina said, going to hit the Grey Maiden. She moved out of the way, so Mina swung the hammer around and shot her wavelength through her.

"Aaargh!" she screamed, jolting forward. She turned around to face the teenagers.

"Oh, I see. You think that you can defeat me! That's precious!" The Grey Maiden jumped forward, sliding a knife out of her sleeve, and she lunged at Mina, who blocked the attack with Stitches.

"Are you alright?" Mina asked.

"I told you, it doesn't hurt! Watch out, attack, three o' clock!" Stitches yelled. Mina leapt to the right, the Grey Maiden's knife narrowly missing her.

"Crap!" Mina exclaimed, jumping backwards and swiping at the Grey Maiden.

The Grey Maiden fought with Stitches and Mina for a little while, but all of the attacks being made were rather superficial. Mina swiped once again at the Grey Maiden, but she tripped over herself slightly.

"You guys… goodness, anyone would think you thought you had _talent_!" The Grey Maiden laughed.

That annoyed Mina, because she knew how much effort it took to convince Stitches she was talented. This woman wasn't going to take it away with one stupid sentence.

"You _bitch_!" Mina yelled, charging her soul wavelength in her palm behind her back.

"Ooh, that hurt!" The Grey Maiden laughed.

"If that hurt, then this is gonna upset you!" Mina yelled, plunging her soul wavelength into the woman's stomach. She flew backwards, spitting blood out of her mouth.

"Stitches, come on, resonance!" Mina yelled.

"Okay!" Stitches yelled.

"_Soul's Resonance!_" the two yelled in unison, their souls beginning to make a connection.

"Push the resonance, Stitches!" Mina yelled. Stitches began to yell, feeling the resonance between the two growing. The soul response grew, and it eventually got to a point where they could harness it.

Mina ran full pelt towards The Grey Maiden, a scowl on her face.

"_Witch-Hunt Smash!_" Mina said, raising Stitches above her head and bringing her down in the centre of the Grey Maiden's skull. With an almighty screech, the opponent disappeared, leaving a hovering, red soul behind.

Stitches transformed back into her human form.

"Mina… our first soul…" Stitches said, examining the soul before plucking it out of the air.

"Take that, Kishin!" Mina said, thrusting her fist up into the air.

"Really? You're just full of clichés tonight, aren't you?" Stitches asked. Mina smirked.

"Were you proud of _Hammer Time_?" Mina asked .Stitches sighed.

"No. Don't do it again." Stitches laughed. She stuck her hand into her pocket and pulled out a little, seemingly normal looking container with a lightning bolt latch.

"What's that?" Mina asked. Stitches smiled and flicked the latch, opening the lid and holding the soul over it. The container sucked the soul in, and Stitches closed the lid.

"It's my mama's," Stitches said, "This is where she stored the Kishin egg souls she collected."

"That's adorable." Mina smiled.

"She gave it to me the night before my first day." Stitches smiled.

"Nice." Mina said.

"You crashing at mine tonight?" Stitches asked. Mina nodded.

"Dad's out on assignment. If I don't stay with you, it's a night in the Shibusen dorms." Mina said, beginning to walk. However, as she did, she felt a stinging pain in her leg.

"Mina… Mina, you're bleeding!" Stitches said. Mina looked down.

"Oh, holy crap." Mina said. She was rather squeamish about blood.

"I'll get Papa to look at it. Come on." Stitches said, wrapping her arm around Mina's waist. She threw her arm around Stitches' shoulder and limped away from their battlefield.

* * *

"There you go." Stein said, having finished stitching up Mina's wound. Stitches was grateful that he was finished; Mina was squeezing her hand for all it was worth.

"She got you pretty badly, Mina." Stitches said, helping her friend off the table.

"I didn't even notice, though. How could I not have noticed?" Mina asked, limping over to the couch.

"Adrenaline." Stein said.

"Is she going to be alright, Papa?" Stitches asked. Stein nodded.

"The stitches should dissolve and com e out of their own accord in one or two weeks. If not, Just come up to the laboratory and I'll remove them." Stein said. Mina nodded.

"Thanks, Doc." Mina said.

"You're welcome. You're lucky you came back here to get it fixed, though; it's a pretty nasty gash." Stein said. Mina sat herself down on the couch.

"You're telling me, Doc." Mina winced and took a sharp breath in. Stein, after fumbling around in a drawer for a while, threw a small packet of tablets to the redheaded meister.

"Sorry, my dad told me never to take medicine from six-foot-something tall dudes with bolts through their heads." Mina smirked.

"You can deal with the pain with your own superior mind powers if you want, Mina, or you can take the painkillers. I'd recommend the painkillers, but, what would I know? I'm only a doctor." Stein crossed his arms and deadpanned. Mina looked over at her weapon, then back at Stein.

"So _that's _where Stitches gets it from. I see." Mina popped one of the capsules out of the packet and swallowed it quickly.

"Gets what from?" Stitches asked.

"Certainly not height." Stein murmured. Stitches' head whipped around and she crossed her arms.

"Papa. Stop." she warned. Stein rolled his eyes and turned around.

"Get some sleep, you two." Stein said, walking off out of the living room.

"Damn adrenaline." Mina said, laying back on the couch whilst Stitches put a pillow underneath her leg. Marie then emerged from the room Stein had walked into, a dressing gown pulled around her.

"Mina, are you alright?" Marie asked, having come back from calling Mina's father.

"I'll be alright. Thanks for letting me stay here tonight, Marie. You didn't have to." Mina said.

"Nonsense. You're family, sweetie." Marie said. Mina smiled slightly.

"Alright, don't stay up too late, girls." Marie said.

"We won't, Mama." Stitches said. Marie switched off the main light and walked off into hers and Stein's room, shutting the door behind her.

"Are you alright, Mina?" Stitches asked, setting herself up on the chair across from Mina.

"I'm fine. Are you seriously going to sleep in that chair? Because I'll be fine out here." Mina said. Stitches brushed away her comment.

"A weapon's duty is to protect her meister." Stitches said, adamantly.

"And a meister's duty is to make sure that her weapon doesn't get permanent back damage because she's watching over a leg wound." Mina laughed. Stitches smiled.

"I'll be fine." Stitches said, curling up on the chair.

"Alright. If you insist." Mina smiled, closing her eyes. The girls were tired; battling a Kishin egg soul wasn't easy.

"I do insist." Stitches replied, before being carried away by slumber herself.

**A/N: First soul! High five!**


	5. The Parental Resonance

**A/N: Hello!  
I ust wanted to give a quick response to greyvss' review for chapter 4 - don't fret! Sure, Witch-Hunt Smash seems a little predictable, but it's their first attack! Give them some time (or rather, their doting author) and they'll get some cooler attacks. We promise.**

"Where are we going?" Mina asked, walking alongside Stitches, Thomas and Joseph.

"I don't know. Maka-sensei said it was a demonstration and-" Stitches began, before her jaw dropped. The class all walked into one of the gymnasium rooms they used for training.

"Stitches? Stitches, what is it?" Thomas asked. Stitches ran forwards through the group.

"Mama? Papa? What are you doing here?" Stitches asked. Marie turned to face her daughter.

"Shinigami-sama asked for a demonstration. Your father and I said we'd do it. Sid and Aunt Yumi are demonstrating as well." Marie said.

"Really?" Stitches asked. Marie nodded.

"Okay." Stitches said, turning away and motioning for her group of friends to back away.

"What are you doing?" Thomas asked.

"We're going to the back of the group. _Now._" Stitches said. She was able to deal with having the odd class with Mina led by her father, or a little group discussion on soul wavelengths with her mother, but a demonstration? In front of the whole class? That was a bit much.

"Why?" Mina asked, trying to see the reason for Stitches' behaviour.

"Well, as you usually put it, Franken-freakin'-Stein and Marie-freakin'-Mjolnir." Stitches said, situating herself at the back of the group.

"Alright, class. You probably recognise these faces. We've got Doctor Stein and Marie-sensei over here, and they are going to be sparring with Sid-sensei and Yumi Azusa." Naigus began. She wasn't fighting, but was refereeing the clash instead. The class all 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed at the prowess of the competitors.

"This could well be the only time you see two three-star meisters and two Deathscythes in battle. So I don't want any chatting, any _making out_, Clarissa and Liam…" Naigus said, causing the whole class, bar the offending couple, to laugh. They all sat down, Stitches, Mina, Thomas and Joseph at the back, and watched.

Stein walked up to Sid and they mumbled to each other for a minute. They were obviously formulating a plan so that neither one of them did serious injury to the other.

"Hey, Stitches, isn't that your dad?" Joseph asked. Stitches turned to Joseph.

"Seriously? Because… we were saying that, like… two minutes ago." Stitches said.

"Sorry. I wasn't paying attention." Joseph said. Mina chuckled.

"Like usual, then?" Mina asked. Joseph smirked and nodded.

"Pretty much," Joseph replied, "I was too preoccupied; they've got Yumi Azusa here. Holy crap, she's badass." He swept his black hair out of his blue eyes. Mina tried really hard not to get lost in those eyes. Stitches smacked Mina on the back of the head and pointed to the front.

"Even if it _is_ my parents, it's still pretty cool watching three-star meisters and Deathscythes having at it." Stitches said. Mina laughed slightly.

"Just for future reference, I'd not use the term 'having at it.'" Mina said. Stitches sighed.

"Mina, you're so dirty-minded." Stitches said.

"It's what I do." Mina smirked. The four of them all turned to watch Stein nod at Sid, and for Sid to nod back. Stitches tried to work out what was going to happen; tactics were her thing.

"_Seeing as Sid-sensei is wielding a long-range weapon and Papa is wielding a melee weapon, Papa will strike first, seeing as this is a simple spar."_

And, just as Stitches had predicted, Sid held his ground whilst Stein charged at him, Marie held against his forearm.

"_Of course. Now, Papa will try to hit Sid-sensei with Mama, as this is just a spar. Usually he'd use Soul Menace, but that would incapacitate Sid-sensei, and he wouldn't be able to readjust to fire with Aunt Yumi. Then, Sid-sensei will block the attack with his own body, using the propulsion from the hit to get far enough away to fire with Aunt Yumi." _

Stein swiped at Sid with Marie, not his usual attack. Stitches nodded and watched as Sid used his upper arm and shoulder to block the tonfa attack, which shoved him backwards. He then swung Azusa over his arm and got into firing position.

"_Now, Aunt Yumi will have some sort of soul arrow; one that won't physically harm Papa. Although, where Sid-sensei will aim is a mystery to me. He'll fire at Papa, I figure…"_

Sid fired an arrow, at Marie, much to Stitches' shock. She was sure he'd fire at her father. Stein seemed more determined, out-of-control now, swiping at Sid more purposefully, dextrously. Stitches shook her head and rolled her eyes when she realised what Sid had done.

"_Are they really doing this? Even I know it's bad. And I'm a teenage girl. Sid-sensei unexpectedly fired at Mama so that Papa would become more focused on hitting him, rather than demonstrating techniques. It takes a brave man to provoke my father. And if there's one thing that provokes Papa, it's people hurting Mama…"_

Stitches tried to stop analysing the techniques and just immersed herself in the sheer scale of the battle.

Her father demonstrated the reason why he was the strongest meister to ever graduate from Shibusen. Her mother also demonstrated the reason she was a Deathscythe; her ability to adapt her wavelength in order to make Stein's attacks as powerful as possible was amazing.

Sid also showed why he was a three-star meister; his no-nonsense concentration allowed him to dodge several attacks, not to mention the sheer power of Azusa.

Unfortunately, for the aforementioned duo, a comment once uttered by Death the Kid about Doctor Franken Stein was rather apt for them at that moment.

"_I can't imagine what that man would be like with a weapon_."

That man was currently resonating with Marie Mjolnir, a Deathscythe, who, as everyone knew, was no regular weapon.

"_Izuna!_" Stein called, and as he did, electricity coursed through all of his nerves, increasing his athletic abilities dramatically. It was a hypernerve technique that could only be harnessed by incredibly skilled meisters and weapons, because if it went wrong, it could go _very _wrong. After incapacitating Sid for a long enough period of time, resonance began.

"_Soul's Resonance!_" Stein and Marie called out. When their resonance reached peak, all of the meisters in the room, even Maka, gasped. Their soul response was _massive_, barely staying within the confines of the massive gymnasium.

However, instead of harnessing this power, the two broke their resonance, Marie transforming back into human form. Azusa did the same, and the four competitors all lined up in front of the students.

The class applauded.

And not just applauded.

They whooped, cheered, stood up _and_ applauded.

They were gobsmacked by the sheer power of the four people standing before them, especially those who had never worked with them before. Even Stitches saw some things she'd never encountered before, and she was the seasoned veteran of that particular E.A.T class.

"Well, I can safely say that was pretty amazing." Maka said, standing out in front of the class.

"Alright, now that's over, you guys can come back to class. I've got you for this lesson." Naigus said. The group all sighed before standing up once again and trudging out of the gymnasium. Maka stayed back and looked at the four; three of which used to be her teachers, one of which she knew anyway.

"Thanks for coming in and doing this, Doctor Stein, Marie-sensei, Sid-sensei, Azusa-san." Maka said. Sid, Stein and Azusa nodded before leaving. Marie, however, stayed back.

"Oh, Marie-sensei, how are you?" Maka asked, a smile on her face.

"I'm good. I just wanted to see how you were getting on with the class." Marie smiled. Maka nodded.

"Oh, I'm doing really well, actually. I mean, there's a lot of marking to do, and Kid-kun hates when I sit around marking, but other than that, it's great." Maka said, walking out of the gymnasium with Marie in tow.

"Yes, marking never really got on top of me. Then again, I suppose it helps when there are two teachers, and you live with the other. But, you know." Marie laughed. Maka nodded.

"So, how is Stitches finding my classes?" Maka asked. Marie smirked.

"Maka, you know she loves you. You could teach her two times tables and she'd come home and tell me that it was the most scintillating thing she's ever learnt." Marie said.

"Well… It's really weird when I hear her call me 'Maka-sensei.' Sometimes, I just see her say that, and I re-imagine her as four years old, at her birthday party. And I'll often just wish that she'd run down, hug me, and, for goodness sake, call me 'Maka-chan.'" Maka ranted. Marie chuckled and nodded.

"She misses her big sister, sometimes." Marie said. Maka sighed.

"Well, you tell her that she can come up to Death Mansion, whenever she wants. Junior adores her anyway." Maka smiled. Marie nodded.

"I will, Maka." Marie smiled.

"Thank you." Maka replied. Marie stopped Maka for a second.

"There is just one thing I have to ask you." Marie said.

"Anything." Maka replied.

"Would you be able to put something in your curriculum? For the weapons, predominantly, but…" Marie started. Maka nodded.

"Of course. What is it?" Maka asked. Marie sighed.

"It's just… When Stitches and Mina went out to collect their first soul, Mina got a gash down the side of her leg." Marie explained. Maka gave a small nod.

"Stitches took it pretty hard, you know, with Shibusen preaching the whole _A weapon's duty is to protect their meister_ thing. So, if you could do, maybe, a couple of lessons on dealing with your partner getting injured, then…" Marie trailed off. Maka looked her in the eye and nodded insistently.

"I should do that anyway. Even for the meisters. Because I remember how I felt when Soul was injured…" Maka trailed off. Marie gasped and put her arm around Maka.

"Of course, Soul-kun. I forgot about his injury…" Marie said.

"It's okay. He's got it good, at the moment. He's traipsing around being my father's shadow in North America, much to Papa's dismay. He's all set to replace Papa, when he retires, seeing as he's a scythe." Maka said. Marie nodded.

"Well, give him my congratulations. Oh, I've got to run. I'm giving a class to the N.O.T kids in ten minutes." Marie said. Maka waved off her old teacher as she walked down a hallway.

Maka sighed as she turned back to walk into Class Crescent Moon. There, she saw Stitches, laughing with her group of friends. Thirteen year old Stitches.

Maka remembered back to when it was just she and Stitches. Stitches never had many friends her own age, so she was glued to Maka most of the time. Maka loved being a teacher, there was no doubting that.

But sometimes, she wished she could just go back to being 'Maka-chan' again.

**A/N: Aww, angsty angst. Don't fret, Maka. I'm writing this story, so I hold the power to make or break yours and Stitches' friendship. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA.**

**Oh, God, I'm evil laughing to myself.**


	6. Leaving The Laboratory

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to anyone who's ever moved out of home. **

"First I call the police. Then, if anyone's hurt, I call the ambulance. Then, I call you. If I can't get through to you, I call Shibusen." Stitches said to her father.

"Good. Now, if there's a chemical fire…" Stein began. Stitches smiled and wrapped her arms around her father.

"I love you too, Papa." Stitches said. Marie was standing behind Stitches, tears in her eyes.

It was a custom; a rite of passage, even.

At the end of your first year at Shibusen, if you've still got the same meister or weapon that you started with, you get an apartment.

Shibusen owned a block of apartments, just down the road from the school, where students could live in security, all whilst accessing the faculties they needed to train and study as a Shibusen student.

That day, Stitches was moving out of home.

Now, she was only just fourteen. Despite the extremely young age at which she was moving out, that was the Shibusen way.

Stitches, Mina, Thomas and Joseph were getting a double twin share apartment. They didn't have to pay for it; it was included in Shibusen tuition. And, although Stein, Marie, and they were sure every other parent going through this, were reluctant to let such young kids move out, they knew it was a ritual. One which, for the former Shibusen's, they'd been through themselves.

"Oh, honey." Marie said, wrapping her arms around her daughter.

"Mama… Mama, it's only nine in the morning. You and Papa are spending the whole day with me, yet. Plus, everyone's meeting here. I'm here for at least another fifteen minutes." Stitches said. Marie nodded.

"I know, it's just… this is the house we brought you home to after you were born." Marie said.

"Well, technically it's a laboratory, but, go on…" Stitches said. A voice chimed in behind the conversation.

"I just want to point out now that I'm _not_ upset. I'm just making sure that you have the necessary protocol down pat in case any disasters occur." Stein said, giving Stitches a list of the process she needed to go through for several possible catastrophes.

"Flood, fire, earthquake… Papa, you've put protocol on here for, and I quote, 'When Spirit Albarn turns up drunk on your doorstep.' Not _if_, _when_." Stitches said. Marie looked over at the list.

"Sweetie, I hate to say this, but that one's probably the most practical on the whole list." Marie said. Stitches sighed and let out a smile.

"Mama, Papa, I really do appreciate you doing all this. I can whine and complain all I want but… I know it means you care for me." Stitches said, slipping into mature mode. Marie sighed and went to hug her daughter again before she heard a knock on the door. Stein stood up and walked over to the door, opening it.

There stood a tall, yet short compared to Stein, blonde-haired boy that Stein didn't recognise.

The boy, however, recognised Stein. Oh, did he recognise Stein.

"_Hi, I'mherebecauseofthemovinginthi ng._" he mumbled, squishing all of his words into one. Stitches looked over at the door at the same time as Marie did, and they both strode over to the two men. Stitches walked over to save Thomas; Marie walked over to restrain Stein.

"Thomas, hi." Stitches smiled. Thomas gave a shy smile but put it away when he heard a snarl of discontent coming from the girl's father.

"_Stein! Shut up!_" Marie whispered. Stein turned around, walking over and resuming his seat. Marie walked over and smiled warmly at the young man.

"You must be Thomas. Stitches has told me all about you." Marie smiled. Stitches gave her mother the typical teenage girl sigh-and-glare.

"Mama…" she said.

"You've told her about me?" Thomas asked. Stitches blushed slightly, but was luckily saved by the door opening. It was Mina, who no longer bothered knocking at her second home.

"Hey Stitches, Thomas, Marie, Doc." Mina said, giving out all of her greetings at one. Various responses were thrown back at her before she started to speak again.

"Yeah, so, my dad is out there with his car, and so is some other lady." Mina said.

"Oh, that's Ms Martha. My guardian." Thomas piped up. Mina acknowledged Thomas' comment.

"So, if we put all the stuff in my dad's car, plus Marie and the Doc, Thomas, Stitches, Joseph and I can ride in Ms Martha's car and we can meet down there. Sound good?" Mina asked. She was a natural leader.

"Sounds good." Marie said, watching as everyone walked out the door. Stein walked out but Stitches hung back. She began to sniffle.

"Stitches… baby, what is it?" Marie asked. Stitches looked at her mother.

"It's just hit me. Right now, that I'm leaving here, for good." Stitches laughed slightly. Marie put her arm around her daughter.

"You'll never be gone from here for good. You're always welcome home. In fact, your father and I expect it." Marie said. Stitches smiled and hugged her back.

"Alright," Stitches said, walking out the door, "Goodbye laboratory, hello, pokey little apartment that I have to share with four people who I've never spent an extended amount of time with and, therefore, don't know if I can stand." Stitches said. Marie shook her head and put her arm around Stitches' shoulder.

"You're your father's daughter, Stitches." Marie said. Stitches smirked and looked up at her mother.

"You'd better hope so," she began, "or you've got a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

After a long day of emotion, flat-pack furniture, swearing _because_ of the flat-pack furniture and generally hard work, Stitches, Mina, Thomas and Joseph had the bare essentials to make their apartment liveable. Thomas, Joseph and Mina's dad, Albert had gone to fetch dinner, so it was only Stein, Marie, Mina, Martha and Stitches in the apartment.

"I never want to see another piece of furniture again in my life." Stein said, slumped down on the couch.

"Honey, think about what you're sitting on, and what you just said." Marie said, sitting down next to him.

"I can sit on it, I just don't want to see it." Stein said. Marie shook her head and sighed.

"You'll live. Toughen up." Marie said. Stein glared at Marie.

"I have splinters in places I did not know splinters could go." Stein said. Marie smirked and stood up.

"Well, I'll have to check those out for you when we get home." Marie said. Stein's eyes bolted open, but before he could remark, Thomas, Joseph and Albert, walked through the door bearing pizza.

"Eat." Albert said, picking up a slice of pizza and taking a bite. He and Stein had made most of the furniture that had to be assembled. They now had an unwritten, unspoken yet sacred connection; the hatred of flat-pack furniture.

The teenagers all sat around on the floor whilst the adults sat on chairs and couches.

"I've got no doubt that they'll have this place plastered with posters and pictures by the end of the week." Martha said, smiling.

"A week? You've obviously never met my daughter. Try by the end of the night." Albert remarked.

"Dad, are you talking about me again?" Mina asked.

"Yes, and your superhuman ability to put posters on every surface known to man." Albert said. Mina smiled cheekily at her father before going back to the conversation she was having with the other three teens.

"So, are you two finding it hard letting her move out? Especially considering she's the baby of the group?" Martha asked the scientist and the deathscythe. Marie nodded.

"Yeah, it's hard. But, Stitches and I, and Stitches and Stein, have had conversations about this day. We always maintained that we'd probably let her go, but that we wouldn't do it without kicking and screaming." Marie smiled. Martha nodded.

"Oh, yes." Martha said.

"But, she understands why we want to make sure that we actually care about her moving out. Stein and I never had parents to consult about moving in with our meister or weapon. We got Shinigami-sama's delegate to sign a form." Marie said. Martha nodded.

After another half-hour of chatting, the moment arrived.

The parents and guardians had to say goodbye.

Marie and Martha cried. A lot. They both latched onto their teenagers and wouldn't let go. Albert hugged his daughter and made her recite the emergency procedure of the building to him before he would let go. Marie eventually let go of Stitches and let Stein say goodbye.

"Stay safe, kid." Stein said.

"You only call me 'kid' when you're trying to detach from a situation, Papa." Stitches said. Stein grit his teeth and nodded. He hugged Stitches tightly.

"You're absolutely right, kid," he murmured, "You're absolutely right." Stitches hugged her father tightly back before letting go.

"I love you, Papa." Stitches said. Stein nodded, glanced up at the ceiling and coughed, composing himself. Marie took his hand tightly and hugged Stitches quickly again before leaving the apartment with all of the others.

She and Stein desperately wanted to burst through that door, take their daughter right out of there and bring her home. But they couldn't.

They got back home to the laboratory and looked into Stitches' empty room. Marie sobbed some more, so she and Stein slipped into bed and he just held her. He held her while she cried herself to sleep, as she would for a few nights to come.

Stitches, Mina, Thomas and Joseph, at the beginning of the day, all thought they would want to jump around and celebrate the departure of their adult guardians. But they didn't.

"It's been a long day." Stitches said, quietly.

"It has." Thomas replied.

Stitches and Mina went into one bedroom, Thomas and Joseph the other and they went to sleep. Although it was going to be a long, arduous road, the kids had begun their journey to adulthood.

And it was weird.

No parents, no rules, no nothing.

Once they had learnt to harness their new found freedoms, it would bring the highs of their life and the darkest of their days.

But, whatever the next day may have brought, they were going to have to do it on their own.


	7. Those Early Memories

**A/N: This chapter is about a character who hasn't been seen since the first story and was talked about briefly in the second story.**

It had taken a little while, but Stitches, Mina, Thomas and Joseph had gotten used to living on their own. It had been a bit more difficult for Stitches, seeing as she was the youngest of the group, but she'd gotten through it.

Rarely a day went by when Stein, Marie, Albert or Martha didn't visit the kids. Thomas would often hide in his room when Stein and Marie came over, and Stitches would have to retrieve him after they left. Martha often brought over foodstuffs, which was a nice change from the cup ramen noodles the teens usually had.

But, their stock of ramen noodles only lasted so long. Mina and Stitches would usually do the shopping, but they were getting rather sick of it. Especially when they got home and the boys simply took the groceries that they wanted and ran to their room. So, Mina and Stitches wrote a shopping list. Mina walked up to Joseph the Saturday morning after she and Stitches had written the list and dropped it into his lap.

"Hey, Joseph, you and Thomas get to do the shopping today." she smirked. Joseph raised an eyebrow and read down the list.

"What? No." Joseph said.

"Joseph, Stitches and I have done the shopping the past zillion times. You are going. Now get Blondie and go." Mina said, yanking Joseph off of the couch. Although he'd not admit it, he did like Mina, so he complied.

"Alright, alright. Keep your pants on." Joseph said, picking up his house keys. Mina smirked as she shoved Joseph out the door, Thomas following.

"Off you go." Mina chuckled slightly, shutting the door behind the two boys. Just then, Stitches shuffled out of her bedroom with her pyjama bottoms and a band t-shirt on. Her hair was a mess and she looked tired. She glanced over at the clock which read eleven in the morning. She grimaced slightly. Stitches was_ not_ a morning person.

"You've finally woken up, eh?" Mina asked. Stitches sighed and flopped down on the couch.

"I was up until three in the morning studying." Stitches replied, yawning. Mina took a deep breath and swallowed.

"Stitches?" Mina asked, her voice unusually solemn. Stitches looked up and her expression softened.

"Mina… what's up?" Stitches asked. Mina took Stitches' hand and led her into their bedroom.

"What is it?" Stitches asked her meister as she shut the door. Mina looked up at Stitches as she sat on the bed, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Sit down." Mina said. Stitches obliged and looked at Mina.

"I… I need to talk to you." Mina said. Stitches tilted her head to the side and blinked.

"Sure, anything." Stitches said.

"I… In a few months, it's going to be ten years since my mama died." Mina said, quietly. Stitches' eyes widened and her hand covered her mouth.

"Mina… Mina, you don't have to tell me about it." Stitches said.

"No, I want to. I mean… only if you're okay with it." Mina clarified. Stitches clasped her hands and nodded.

"If you want to stop, you just stop, okay?" Stitches asked. Mina gave a small smile and shook her head.

"Don't worry, Stitches. I'm not really upset about it. I was only five and a bit when she passed away. But… I want you to know. I know everything about you… it's high time I told you about my mama." Mina said. Stitches nodded and laid down next to Mina.

"My mama and papa were really close. And it was the night that they got engaged that I was conceived." Mina said. Stitches giggled and smiled.

"My papa stopped working as a meister to go into Internal Affairs at Shibusen. My mama was a meister too, but she became a doctor." Mina said.

"Nice. What did she do?" Stitches asked.

"She was on obstetrician. So when she was pregnant, you can imagine the rigmarole she and Papa went through to find the right professionals." Mina laughed. Stitches grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, my parents did that too, what with Papa having been through the system." Stitches said. Mina nodded and smirked.

"So, I was born, and because my parents weren't married, I took Papa's last name." Mina said.

"So, what was your mama's name?" Stitches asked. Mina smiled and closed her eyes.

"Aya. Aya Katsuma."

_Aya Katsuma, _Stitches thought, _where have I heard that name before? Where have I-_

Stitches sat bolt upright and she gasped.

"What? What's the matter?" Mina asked. Stitches jumped off of Mina's bed and ran to her bedside drawer, pulling out a small diary.

"Stitches!" Mina exclaimed. Stitches flipped through the diary and pointed to a page.

"Oh, my Death…" Stitches said to herself.

"What is it?!" Mina jumped from her feet and sat behind Stitches.

"This bit. _Doctor Katsuma, the wonderful woman who guided Stein and I through the pregnancy and birth of Stitches, passed away earlier this week. Rest in peace, Aya._" Stitches looked at Mina and her eyes widened.

"That's too much coincidence to be a coincidence." Mina said.

"I think we need to go and see Mama." Stitches said. Mina nodded and she and Stitches walked out of their room and out of the apartment.

* * *

"Hey, Doc. Where's Marie?" Mina asked as she walked into the lab. Stein turned around and saw the redhead and his daughter walk into the lab.

"Oh, girls?" Marie asked. Mina and Stitches ran over to Marie, a question written in their eyes.

"What is it, girls?" Marie asked. Stitches looked at Mina, who sighed and looked at Marie.

"Would we be able to talk to you… woman to… women?" Mina asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to go." Stein said, walking out of the room and into one of his laboratory rooms. Marie sat down with the girls and clasped her hands.

"What is it, girls?" Marie asked. Mina looked at Marie.

"What was the name of the doctor who delivered Stitches?" Mina asked. Marie sighed and clasped her hands, looking up in remembrance.

"Her name was Doctor Katsuma. She passed away when you were about four and a half, Stitches She… she actually looked a bit like you, Mina. She had red hair like yours." Marie said. Mina blinked.

"That's because she was my mama." Mina said. Marie's eyes widened and her hands covered her mouth.

"Mina… really?" Marie asked. Mina nodded.

"Yeah. I guess you just wouldn't have noticed, seeing as I have Papa's last name. But my middle name is-"

"Aya. Right?" Marie asked. Mina nodded and gave a little smile.

"My mama went back to work really soon after I was born. She loved me, but her job was her passion. Well… so Papa has told me." Mina gave a little smile. Marie leant over to Mina and hugged her tightly.

"She was a good woman, Mina." Marie whispered. Mina hugged Marie back and smiled.

"I can't believe that my mama delivered my best friend. This was five years before we ever met." Mina shook her head in disbelief.

"Death City is a small place." Marie said.

"It is, indeed." Mina replied, with a small smile.

"You know, I'm really proud at the way you deal with the situation with your mother." Marie said. Mina smiled and nodded.

"Well, Papa helps. My mama, she was badass, intelligent and just generally awesome." Mina said.

"Just like mine, then?" Stitches asked. Marie looked at Stitches and she melted.

"Oh, honey. I love you." Marie wrapped her arms around Stitches, who just giggled and hugged her back.

Marie held out her other hand and beckoned Mina into the hug. She accepted gratefully.

"You too, Mina." Marie said.

For a girl who had lost her mother so early on in life, Mina had turned out pretty damn well.

* * *

"Oh, no." Thomas said, standing in the aisle in complete and utter terror.

"Why don't we just ask someone?" Joseph asked. Thomas shook his head.

"No." Thomas said.

"Come on, Tom. It can't be this hard. They have to do it once a month." Joseph said. The boys were standing in an aisle that, as men, they never thought they'd have to go down. Well, until they got married, anyway.

"Did she… she drew a diagram! Do they really think we're that clueless?" Thomas asked. Next to the list items, which were bad enough in themselves, Mina had drawn a diagram, just in case the boys didn't know what to get.

"Oh_, that's_ what that is! I was wondering why she drew an airship." Joseph said. Thomas smacked Joseph over the back of the head.

"Remind me _why_ I keep you around?" Thomas said. Joseph sighed and walked down the aisle.

"What the hell are wings?" Joseph asked, picking up a box of the products.

"They make things fly." Thomas said. Joseph automatically put the box back and sighed.

"This is ridiculous." Thomas said, and he grabbed the first box he saw.

"No, dude… why don't we just call them?" Joseph asked.

"Don't you think that'll take a little bit of mystery out of anything we might have with them in the future?" Thomas asked. Joseph crossed his arms and Thomas cracked. He pulled out his phone and dialled Stitches' number.

"_Hey, what's up?_" Stitches asked.

"Uh… hey. Uh… I need to ask you something, and it might be a bit awkward, but…" Thomas said.

"_Come on, spit it out."_

"Well… Joseph and I are shopping, and we were wondering…" Thomas stammered. Joseph sighed.

"Gimme that." he sighed, taking the phone and holding it to his ear.

"Hey, Stitches, yeah, what pads do you guys want?" Joseph asked. Thomas was shocked at how nonchalantly Joseph could ask that.

"Cool. Will do. More than happy to accommodate your special lady business. See you." Joseph hung up the phone and grabbed two boxes of pads off the shelf and shoved them in the basket.

"See? There you go." Joseph said, walking down the aisle.

"… Special lady business?" Thomas asked .

**A/N: You know a chapter's good when it ends with 'special lady business.'**


	8. Mama's Gracious Gift

**A/N: Kid approves of this chapter. **

"Moving on. The Wavelength of Redemption is a wavelength very few possess. Recent research has shown that it is a genetic wavelength." Marie said. Stitches' head bolted up at that statement. She was in a weapons-only class.

"I need you all to discuss some of the wavelengths that I've just told you about, okay?" Marie asked. Joseph looked over at Stitches.

"Hey, you could have the Wavelength of Redemption, right? It's pretty likely… The Mjolnir are the core clan with it, right?" Joseph asked.

"I don't know… Wait… how do _you_ know?" Stitches asked. Joseph's eyes widened.

"Oh, uh, I, uh… I just… My sister… I… We..." Joseph stammered. Stitches smirked.

"You've researched this, haven't you?" Stitches asked. Joseph looked away.

"Shut up." he said. Stitches smiled.

"I _knew_ you couldn't possibly be so vapid." Stitches said. Joseph smirked, slightly.

"It's not cool to be smart." he said.

"Really? You hang out and live with me, Mina and Thomas, and you're concerned about coolness?" You're the coolest out of us by far." Stitches smirked.

"I don't know… Mina's pretty cool." Joseph said. Stitches' eyes widened and she smacked Joseph in the arm.

"_You_ like her!" Stitches said.

"No, I don't!" Joseph replied.

"You saying my meister isn't attractive?" Stitches asked.

"No!" Joseph exclaimed.

"So you like her!" Stitches nearly jumped out of her seat, but Joseph clamped his hand over her mouth before she could reply. A small cough came from the front of the classroom.

"Stitches, Joseph, you alright up there? Anything I could help you with?" Marie asked. Stitches' eyes widened and she sat up straight in her seat, picking up her textbook and holding it up in front of her face.

"No, Mama. We're fine, Mama." She murmured.

* * *

Not long after Stitches' embarrassing incident, class was over. Stitches and Joseph walked down the stairs.

"Stitches. Could I see you for a minute?" Marie asked.

"Okay. Joseph, tell the others I'll be there soon." Stitches said. Joseph nodded and waved Stitches off as Marie turned to face her.

"How are you going?" Marie asked. Stitches smiled.

"I'm doing fine, Mama. What did you want?" Stitches asked. Marie nodded and beckoned Stitches over to the small science lab across from the classroom they were currently in. There, on a bench, sat a small mouse. It was pacing backwards and forwards across its enclosure. Shinigami-sama was standing in the room with them. He gave a wave to the women.

"Shinigami-sama?" Stitches asked.

"Ah, Stitches-chan! I'm here to observe you!" Shinigami-sama said.

"Okay. Now I'm confused. Mama…?" Stitches began.

"Now, we have to be quick. The mouse is not in any pain, and I can reverse the soul manipulation, but I hate seeing the poor baby not under its own control." Marie said. Stitches raised an eyebrow.

"Could somebody just tell me what's going on?!" Stitches asked.

"We need to see whether or not you possess the power of the Wavelength of Redemption. And, much to my dismay, we've not found another way to test it." Marie said.

"Okay… so what are we doing?" Stitches asked. Marie held her palm out to Stitches.

"Put your hand on top of mine." Marie said. Stitches complied, pressing her hand to her mother's.

"_Wavelength of Redemption._" Marie whispered, causing her hand to glow a rich gold. Stitches' eyes widened as the glow transferred to her own hand.

"What did you do? Oh, no, am I going mad? Do you have to-" Stitches fretted. Marie laughed and shook her head.

"If you do possess the wavelength, then, the theory is, another person with the wavelength has to awaken it. If you don't possess the wavelength, then… I suppose I just made your hand glow." Marie said. Stitches nodded.

"Where did you get yours from?" Stitches asked. Marie's eye closed.

"I had the wavelength, written into my genetic code. But… activating it was a little tricky, and that's why I wear my eyepatch. It helps to contain the wavelength." Marie began. Stitches' eyes widened.

"Does that mean I'll have to-" Stitches began.

"No. My activation was difficult. This should be routine." Marie said, gently. Stitches gave a sigh and nodded. She had bad enough eyesight, not to mention a total lack of depth perception already.

"Anyway, research has shown that I's a genetic wavelength. So, we're going to see. In theory, if it's in my genetic code, it may be in yours. It all depends on whether or not I have the dominant gene. If you have the genetic code, then goodness knows what it could do for the research into the wavelength."

"Alright," Marie said, picking up the little, frightened looking mouse, "this mouse has been inflicted with a weak, internal madness. I need you to take two fingers and press them to the underside of the mouse."

Stitches nodded and pressed her middle finger and forefinger against the mouse's tiny ribcage.

"Good. Now, you have to concentrate on your own soul and the soul of the mouse. Think of it as one-way resonation. When you're fully ready, simply recite 'Wavelength of Redemption' and we'll see if you've got it." Marie said.

Stitches closed her eyes and concentrated on her own soul. Trying to put to the back of her mind the fact that she was healing a rodent, she calmed her soul and exhaled.

"_Wavelength of Redemption_._" _Stitches muttered.

A white light radiated from Stitches' fingers and jolted the mouse slightly. The rodent's eyes then opened as the glow faded, and it squeaked.

"Stitches…" Marie said, looking at her daughter.

"Do I…" Stitches began. Marie nodded insistently, not able to suppress the smile on her face.

"I know I'm your teacher at the moment, but I'm going to hug you anyway." Marie whispered, throwing her arms around her daughter. Stitches hugged back, although she was still slightly in shock.

"Stitches-chan, I see you've inherited your mother's powers. I remember when your mother first received her power. It was tough, at first, but she made the most of her sacrifice." Shinigami-sama reminisced.

"I… I have to sit down." Stitches said, grabbing a lab stool and sitting on it.

"Are you okay, Stitches?" Marie asked.

"Yeah…yeah, it's just…Wavelength of Redemption?" Stitches asked.

"I must have strong genes." Marie smiled. Stitches took a deep breath.

"Wavelength of… Wavelength of Redemption?" Stitches asked herself, again.

"Yeah, honey." Marie said, rubbing circles into Stitches' back.

"That…_is awesome!_" Stitches said, a wide smile on her face. Marie sighed.

"I suppose you'll want to tell your father?" Marie asked. Stitches nodded.

"Well, I have to go and add your newfound wavelength to the student register, not to mention let those researchers know." Shinigami-sama cried, bounding out of the room. Stitches stood up tentatively and walked out of the lab, Marie following.

"Alright, your father should be in Laboratory C…" Marie said, heading down a hall.

"Mama?" Stitches asked.

"Yes?" Marie asked.

"Lab C's this way." Stitches said. Marie thought for a second and smiled.

"I knew that." Marie said, walking past Stitches.

"Sure you did, Mama." Stitches smirked.

* * *

"Are you trying to show me up, Stitches? First your crazy weapon skills, now a Wavelength of Redemption… man, we're going to _kick ass!" _Mina exclaimed. Just then, the phone rang.

"I've got it." Joseph said, jumping to his feet and walking to the phone.

"Hello?" Joseph asked. He nearly dropped the phone when he heard who was on the other end.

"I-I'll get her," Joseph said, taking the receiver away from his face, "Holy crap!"

The group of teenagers looked over at the awestruck pistol.

"It's Yumi-freakin'-Azusa on the line. And she wants to talk to you, Stitches." Joseph said. Azusa was a role model to a lot of the weapons; female weapons and ranged weapons, predominantly. Joseph was no different. Stitches leapt to her feet and smiled.

"Mama already told Aunt Yumi? Goodness." Stitches said. Joseph's eyes widened even further.

"Aunt… _Aunt Yumi?!" _Joseph exclaimed.

"Where do you think my middle name comes from?" Stitches asked. Joseph's eyes widened to a point where it looked like they could widen no more.

"I've got to sit down." Joseph said, handing Stitches the phone.

"Aunt Yumi, hi." Stitches smiled.

"_Stitches, how are you? I heard about your great discovery today." _Azusa said, on the other end of the phone.

"Mama already told you? She gossips too much." Stitches laughed.

"_Well, if you were my daughter, I'd tell everyone. A wavelength of redemption is a great skill to have. All lined up to take over the family position of Deathscythe, I see."_

"Don't say that! Mama's going to stay a Deathscythe for a while, yet." Stitches said.

"_Yes, yes. I'm sure. So, you only found out today?"_

"Mmhm, today. Mama did the test with Shinigami-sama, and I saved a mouse." Stitches said.

"_A mouse? Death, that would have been hard to take seriously."_

"I know, it was hard to keep a straight face." Stitches smiled.

"_I'll have to talk to you in person sometime, check on my favourite niece." _

"I know! I haven't seen you for ages." Stitches replied.

"_I tell you what, when I get off of my next mission, I'll come and visit you in your new apartment, okay?"_

"That sounds awesome." Stitches smiled.

"_Okay, Stitches. I've got to go. But I will see you soon." _

"Alright, Aunt Yumi. Bye!" Stitches hung up the phone.

"Are there any Deathscythes you _don't_ have connections with?" Joseph asked.

"Well, I've only been to a few functions with Justin Law, but, not really." Stitches said. Joseph chuckled.

"Yumi-freakin'-Azusa." Joseph said.

"She said she'd come down and visit after her next mission." Stitches said. Joseph's eyes widened and he grabbed Thomas' arm.

"Come on, Tom! We've got to clean our room! Come on, what are you waiting for? Hurry up!" he said, bolting into his room. Thomas reluctantly followed.

"You see what's going on here, right?" Mina asked Stitches.

"No…?" Stitches said. Mina chuckled.

"Joseph's got a little boy crush on your aunt." Mina said. Stitches' eyes widened.

"Well, unfortunately, I don't think he's her type." Stitches laughed, along with Mina.


	9. Resonance and Romance?

**A/N: You asked for pairings. You asked for them, and you shall receive… one. Enjoy :D**

"Chain resonance requires complete and utter concentration from each and every participant; meister and weapon alike." Stein said to the group of six. They all nodded and continued to pay attention.

The chain resonance group was made up of Stitches and Mina, Thomas and Joseph and Cleo and her meister Oliver.

"This resonance group is well balanced." Stein explained.

"How so, Doctor Stein?" Oliver asked. Oliver was a tall boy, with shoulder length black hair and green eyes.

"Well, we've got Stitches, a defensive melee weapon; the hammer. Then, we've got Cleo, an offensive melee weapon; the traditional scythe. And, finally, we've got Joseph, a ranged weapon; the pistol." Stein replied.

"Of course." Oliver replied. The boy was fairly soft-spoken, almost philosophical, in a way.

"Chain resonance is not an easy skill to master. But, having said that, I've been notified by Maka-sensei that you six have come the closest to perfecting your own resonances in pairs. So, I expect something." Stein said, sitting backwards on his chair.

"So…" Mina began.

"Well, go on. Like I've said before, _if_ you were listening in class, I can't _tell_ you how to resonate. You just have to concentrate on your soul and the souls around you." Stein said. The meisters all looked at their weapons, who all simultaneously transformed.

"_Soul's Resonance_." all the pairs said, resonating individually before beginning chain resonance. Mina and Stitches' resonance first reached out to Oliver and Cleo's. The tails of the resonance connected. Then, those two resonances reached out to Thomas and Joseph's resonance.

However, when the resonances got closer to Thomas and Joseph's resonance, a crack of electricity jumped into all of the meisters, causing them to break their resonance, drop their weapons and jolt backwards.

"What the hell?!" Mina exclaimed, shaking her head.

"Thomas, what the _hell_ is wrong with your resonance?" Oliver asked.

"_My_ resonance? _Your_ resonance couldn't handle the strength of _our_ resonance!" Thomas yelled back.

"It was a goddamn electric shock! It has to be Stitches! You're the _only_ one who has any genetic connection to electricity!" Joseph replied, his voice raised, much to Thomas' disdain.

"Are you _seriously_ bringing my _mother _into this?! What about your parents? What the hell were they?!" Stitches asked back, in human form.

"Why the _hell_ are we talking about parentage?! Mina's the one who couldn't handle the resonance!" Cleo shouted.

"Who the _hell_ do you think you are?!" Mina yelled.

"Hey, leave my scythe _alone!_" Oliver said.

"Oh, you're one to talk, pinning your own freakin' failure on my meister?! Mature!" Joseph yelled.

"Pot calling the kettle black much? You blamed Stitches' _mother_, for goodness sake!" Mina yelled.

"Oh, shut up!" Joseph retorted.

"You shut up!" Mina screamed.

"How about you all _shut up?!_" Stein bellowed, causing the whole group to stop and face him.

"What the _hell_ was that about?!" Stein yelled. The teenagers all started talking at once, all defending their partners and pinning blame.

"Quiet!" Stein replied, shaking his head.

"It's nobody's fault, right?" Thomas asked. Stein shook his head.

"It's _everybody's_ fault." Stein said. The teens all raised an eyebrow. Stein sighed.

"Thomas, you're being overpowered by your weapon. Joseph, you're so wrapped up in your own soul that you forgot about chain resonance." Stein began. Thomas and Joseph looked shell-shocked.

"Mina, you're overconfident with your pair resonance and that means that you don't focus on chain resonance. Stitches, you're not giving it 100% and the connection isn't taking." Stein continued. Mina raised an eyebrow and Stitches crossed her arms. Stein didn't intimidate her, but there was something up with what he was saying.

"Oliver, you're so focused on perfecting chain resonance that your own resonance fails. And Cleo, you focus on everyone else's soul too much, neglecting your own." Stein finished, Oliver and Cleo not making eye-contact with anyone else.

"So, it's _everyone's_ fault. I'll give you fifteen minutes to _work out_ why the hell this isn't working." Stein said, rolling out of the clearing.

The teenagers all stood there, in silent shock.

"What do we do?" Mina asked. Stitches sighed.

"You know, it sucks having to take classes with my father, but I know what he means." Stitches said.

"What does he mean?" Thomas asked.

"He means that we have to apologise." Stitches said.

"But… why didn't he just say that?" Oliver asked.

"Because you understand how utterly demoralising it would be for him to say 'Okay, kiddies, kiss and make up and we can resonate then.'" Stitches said. Oliver nodded slightly.

"Yes, I can see where that would…yes." Oliver said.

"There's no way that Papa could have known all that stuff he said before. Like he said, chain resonance requires complete concentration on your own soul and the souls of those around you. All of the things that he listed were things that would just take your concentration _off_ of resonance." Stitches said.

"But then… why did he say them?" Cleo asked.

"Really? Because he's still a little sadistic. And he's trying to scare us into compliance. Which, by the look on Thomas' face, he's succeeded in doing. Now, come on. We know we didn't mean that crap we said before." Stitches said, playing mediator.

Mina sighed, walked over to Joseph and grabbed his arm, pulling him into a secluded area. She felt bad about what she'd said to him.

"Joseph… I'm sorry." Mina said, quietly.

"It's alright. I'm sorry too." Joseph said. Mina smiled.

"It was stupid." Mina said, giggling slightly. Joseph took a small breath in, Mina looking up at him.

"Alright, now that's done-" Mina went to leave, but Joseph grabbed her arm.

"What is i-" Before Mina could finish her sentence, Joseph gently pressed his lips against hers. Mina didn't quite know what to do, so she kissed back, slightly.

However, as they pulled away, they heard a dooming noise.

The squeaking of desk-chair wheels. Joseph turned his head and saw their resonance teacher rolling past them.

"I told you to work out your problems, not fraternise." Stein said, leaving the area. Mina blushed deeply.

"Uh… Resonating. Yeah." Mina smiled, walking off, slightly in shock. Joseph followed and they both went back to their respective partners, not able to look each other in the eye.

"Did you apologise?" Stitches asked.

"I… Yeah. I have to talk to you after. Come on, let's just do this." Mina said. All of the weapons transformed, and the meisters prepared to resonate.

The pairs all resonated with ease, just as they had done the first time.

Mina and Stitches' resonance connected with Oliver and Cleo's, and it went to reach out to Thomas and Joseph's. The connection crept ever closer until, with a great whooshing noise, they both connected.

"_Can you guys hear me?_" Mina asked, wordlessly communicating through the resonance.

"_Yes._" Thomas replied.

"_Loud and clear_." Oliver replied. A smile crept across Mina's face and she continued to concentrate on the resonance.

"_Come on… push the resonance!_" she said. With one final push, the combined soul response of the six teens grew to full size. Stein sat back and smirked as the weapons and meisters made the connection and held it.

"Not bad." Stein said.

"The leader is…" Stein began, analysing and observing before coming to his conclusion.

"…Mina." he ended. Mina's eyes opened wide as the resonance broke.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch what you said there, Doc." Mina said, furrowing her eyebrows.

"You heard _exactly_ what I said." Stein said, standing from his chair. Stitches turned to Mina with a wide smile on her face.

"You're the leader!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah. You're the brains, I'm the brawn." Mina smiled, still in slight shock.

"I know, I know, I'm the nerd. I'm blissfully aware." Stitches smiled back. Her face, however, turned sour once Mina rested her elbow on her shoulder.

"Really?" Stitches asked, looking up at her taller friend. Mina nodded.

"I _am_ the leader…" Mina trailed off.

"Shut up." Stitches replied.

"No." Mina laughed. Stitches sighed.

"So, what was it that you had to tell me?" Stitches asked. Mina bit her bottom lip and shut her eyes slightly.

"Joseph kissed me." Mina said, quietly. Stitches stopped in her tracks.

"What?!" Stitches asked, near squealing.

"You heard." Mina said.

"Did you kiss back?" Stitches asked. Mina blushed slightly and bit her lip.

"Maybe." Mina said. Stitches full-on squealed and hugged Mina. Mina hugged back with her own squeal , a smile on her face. Stein then walked past them, trailing his chair behind him with a pained expression on his face.

"What's wrong with you, Doc?" Mina asked. Stein shook his head.

"You two have been squealing like that around me for nearly ten years and I still can't stand it." Stein said. Mina smiled slightly, but Stitches dropped her head in embarrassment.

"Papa…" Stitches said, quietly.

"What?" Stein asked, a sadistic grin on his face.

"Just go." Stitches said.

"But-"

"Just go, Papa." Stitches said, looking at her father as he shook his head, smirked and walked away.

**A/N: Aw, all angsty teenager like, hey? Yeah, I know. Right?**


	10. Ultimate Written Exam!

**A/N: The Ultimate Written Exam is here! Make sure you read my A/N at the end of this chapter!**

**((and, as xxalesanaxx pointed out, there was a reference to Soul in here that referred to him as Maka's meister, not wepon. It's fixed now!))**

"I'm sorry, but I can't study any more without coffee." Mina said.

"I'll have a tea." Stitches said. Stitches _loathed_ coffee. Although, both of her parents seemed to have an infatuation with the caffeinated beverage. It was just something they shared. Stitches never cottoned on to the idea.

"Of course you will." Mina said. Joseph stood up after his now-girlfriend, walking over to the kitchenette and jumping up onto the counter.

"Get your attractive, toned ass off the counter." Mina said. Joseph smirked, his black hair falling over his blue eyes.

"Only if you get your sexy, luscious lips over here." Joseph smirked. Thomas and Stitches turned to each other and nodded knowingly.

They, in unison, began to make retching noises as Joseph's lips made contact with Mina's. After a couple of seconds, Mina scowled at Thomas and Stitches.

"Unless you want me to spit in your beverages, I suggest you shut the hell up." Mina said.

The two sitting on the carpet stopped their noises, and, as the kettle had not yet boiled, Mina went back to kissing Joseph. Stitches could only just barely tolerate the scene before her, but when Joseph's hand slipped below the equator and onto Mina's backside, that was it.

"Alright, that's quite enough." Stitches said, jumping to her feet, running over to Joseph and grabbing his ear, pulling him off the counter.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow…" Joseph said, jumping off the counter and walking over to where Thomas and Stitches sat.

"Stitches!" Mina exclaimed.

"The kettle's boiled." Stitches smirked. Mina scowled slightly, turning back to the counters.

"Come on, Stitches. Who's writing the exam? You're in with _everyone_ at Shibusen. Can't you find who's writing the exam and just use those big ol' gold eyes of yours to get the answers?" Joseph asked. Stitches furrowed her brow.

"I don't know who's writing the exam. But, before you ask, I do know that it's not my father." Stitches said. Joseph sighed.

"Damn! You could have just gone up to him, blinked your lashes and gone 'Daddy, we've been trying _so_ hard to study, but it's just _so_ hard to continue…'"

"Alright, two things. One, my father would probably stab me if I tried that. Two, would you go up to my father and say that?" Stitches asked. Joseph laughed incredulously.

"No." Joseph smirked.

"That why the _hell_ would I do it?" Stitches asked.

"Well… Because he's your dad!" Joseph said.

"What a convincing argument. Whose sperm hits whose egg shouldn't determine who has to risk death just because you're too lazy to study." Stitches said. Joseph simply smirked.

"Geez, someone's grown a pair." Joseph said, punching Stitches in the arm.

"Well… You'll do fine. Joseph." Stitches said, taking the cup of tea Mina made her into her grasps.

"You didn't spit in this, did you?" Stitches asked.

"No." Mina said, shaking her head and laughing slightly.

The four teenagers sat around for a little while, Thomas and Stitches studying for the Ultimate Written Exam, Joseph and Mina studying the insides of each other's mouths. After another hour of studying, Stitches could no longer keep her eyes open. She was incredibly tired and delirious. She was a lot like her mother in that respect; when Marie was tired, it was like she was drunk.

"I sleepytime on you now, Thomas." Stitches said, flopping down onto the blonde boy. Thomas, taken slightly aback, looked up at Joseph, who was now standing up.

"_What do I do?_" Thomas mouthed. Joseph smirked and began to play a vulgar game of charades. He bent over an imaginary figure and began thrusting in mid-air. Thomas shot him a glare and looked down at the silver-haired girl.

"Come on, Stitches." Thomas said, sitting the girl up and helping her to her feet. She slumped against the taller boy and held onto him tightly as he walked her into her bedroom, laying her down on her bed.

"You alright here?" Thomas asked. Stitches groaned as she turned over.

"Mmhm." Stitches said. Thomas sighed and pulled away from Stitches, looking on at her sleeping frame.

"Good luck for tomorrow, Stitches." Thomas said, pulling the hair that had fallen over her face away. She sighed contentedly as the blonde haired boy walked out of the room.

* * *

"Alright, class! The exam will start in two minutes!" Maka said, the students in the class all fidgeting nervously as their exam papers were laid out in front of them.

Stitches took a deep breath and turned over the paper, writing her full name and her date of birth on the front. She'd studied for this test, she knew all the answers… well, she was pretty sure she did.

After another minute or so, the exam began.

"And… begin!" Maka called out, causing the room to erupt with noises of ruffling papers and clinking pens. Stitches took a deep breath and looked at the first question.

_A sound soul resides in a sound _ and sound _._

Stitches sighed and wrote down the answer. She knew that question, as most of the other people in her class probably did as well. She continued down the page, most of the questions relatively easy for her to answer. Partway through the exam, however, something went awry.

"Ouch!" a boy cried. Stitches turned her head and pushed her glasses up over the bridge of her nose to see a brown-haired boy being pulled to the front of the classroom by his ear by Maka. When he got down the front, Maka let go of his ear and crossed her arms.

"Where are they? Come on." she said. The boy sighed and emptied his sleeves of the cheat sheets he had written. Maka sighed.

"My weapon tried to do this when we took the exam." Maka said, scrunching up the cheat sheets.

"What happened to him?" the boy asked.

"He ended up half naked next to a girl who made her exam into a giraffe, a boy who passed out when he couldn't write his name properly, and took advice from a boy who was beaten to within an inch of his life. So, I suggest that you use what little study you did and try and complete your exam _without_ these." Maka said, ripping up the cheat sheets.

The boy turned, defeated, and walked back to his seat. Stitches sighed and looked back down at her test. She'd nearly finished, and she had ten minutes to go.

"_I'll just double check…_" Stitches said, going through her answers one more time. When she was happy with her answers, she put her pencil down and looked across at Mina for a second.

She was stressing out. Her knuckles were white over her pencil, and she was trembling. Stitches desperately wanted to stand up, go over there and put her arm around Mina, and just try to tell her what to do. But she couldn't.

Stitches turned her head back to the front and closed her eyes slightly. After sitting around for a while, she took a deep breath in as Maka called out.

"One minute to go!" she called.

Stitches heard a gasp which she _knew_ escaped from Mina. She resisted the urge to turn her head, rechecking her exam answers instead. After the final minute was up, the chimes rang. A lot of exasperated cries and relieved sighs rang out, not to mention the slamming of fists and the throwing of pencils. Stitches turned to Mina, who had her head resting on the table and her eyes closed. Stitches slid over to her once she and Mina had their exam papers taken up.

"Mina… Mina, are you alright?" Stitches asked. Mina turned to her and cracked a nervous smile.

"I failed so badly." Mina said, breathily. Stitches sighed and sat down next to Mina.

"No, you didn't." Stitches said.

"You're the smart one." Mina replied. Stitches sighed and rested her arm around Mina's shoulder.

"Come on. Let's go home." Stitches said. Mina smiled slightly.

"Alright, come on." Mina stood up, Stitches grabbing her satchel bag and following afterwards.

* * *

"Stitches…holy crap." Mina said, elbowing a shell-shocked Stitches in the side.

The results of the Ultimate Written Exam had been posted three days after the class had taken the exam.

Mina had calmed down about her results somewhat, and had come in at a highly respectable 42nd place out of 150 participants.

Joseph had come in 57th, not being as dumb as everyone thought he was and Thomas had come in 14th. Stitches, however…

"I'm going to pass out." Stitches said, grabbing onto Mina's arm.

"Please don't pass out." Thomas replied.

"I…How did I…Why did I…" Stitches muttered.

"Stitches, you came _first!_" Joseph exclaimed. Her eyes flicked over the words again.

_Shelley Stein – 101 points_

"I…I gotta sit down." Stitches said, backing against the wall and sliding down against it.

First. She'd beaten 149 of her peers in the biggest exam of their school lives.

She sat down against the wall and closed her eyes. Mina sat down on one side of her, Thomas on the other, whilst Joseph stood up in front of them. As most of the students made their way along the corridor and out of Shibusen, a familiar face stopped in front of the four.

"Stitches." the woman called. Stitches raised her head to see the expectant eyes of her mother above her.

"Mama…" Stitches began. Marie smiled widely and knelt down in front of Stitches. Stitches sighed.

"Turn away." Stitches said to her friends. They all laughed and obliged, turning away as Marie wrapped her arms around her daughter, suppressing a squeal.

"Well done, baby." Marie whispered, kissing her daughter on the forehead before standing up once more.

"Can we look yet?" Mina asked, her eyes squeezed shut. Stitches smirked.

"Yes." Stitches said, smiling slightly. Marie stood back.

"Well, I'd best be off. Congratulations on your scores, guys." Marie said, before walking off down the corridor. Mina smirked and giggled slightly.

"Mama Mjolnir's proud of you." Mina said. Stitches sighed.

"Well, I think it's nice. No doubt I'll have a call from Ms Martha this afternoon." Thomas said, holding his hand out to Stitches. She smiled and took his grasp, standing to her feet.

"Thanks." Stitches said, brushing her choppy silver tresses out of her face. The four friends walked down the corridor of Shibusen, all pretty happy with how they'd done in the exam.

Stitches, however, was still pretty dumbfounded.

**A/N: Come on, Stitches is The Brain. This is her thing!**

**Okay, so, I was chatting to one of my friends who's reading my stories, and I happened to tell her a couple of little interesting things about the way this story was written, and she said that I should put them into the stories somehow. So, I've decided that I'm going to start putting little factoids at the end of each chapter, just for something else to do. The factoids will generally relate to the chapters in one way or another.**

**Factoid #1: As we know, names are imperative to taking tests and, moreover, learning of test scores. **

**Both Stitches and Mina's names are references to seminal horror writings. Stitches, whose real name is Shelley, is named for Mary Shelley, the author of **_**Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus.**_** Mina is named for Mina Harker, the protagonist of Bram Stoker's **_**Dracula**_**. **


	11. A Family Curse

_Everyone must evacuate to the front of Shibusen immediately!_

Shinigami-sama's voice echoed through the entire Shibusen building, the instructions being followed implicitly. However, for Mina and Stitches, that instruction came a little too late.

"Get it _away!_" Stitches cried, curled up in the corner of the girls' bathrooms, batting at something.

"Stitches, what is it?" Mina asked.

"Something's _wrong!_" Stitches clutched at the sides of her head, her vision fuzzy and her whole body trembling. Mina gasped slightly as she heard students rushing through the corridors outside. She opened the door to see the students all filing out of the classrooms. She turned her head to see Sid standing against the wall.

"Sid-sensei!" she called.

"Mina! What are you still doing in here?" Sid asked.

"What's going on?" Mina asked.

"There's a student in Shibusen who's been overtaken by a Kishin egg soul. They're transmitting madness throughout the school and we need everyone out so we can neutralize it." Sid said. Mina's eyes widened.

"You've got to help me. Stitches is in the corner of the bathroom and she won't come out. She keep complaining about… something!" Mina hyperventilated.

Sid's eyes widened and he ran into the girls' bathrooms with absolutely no hesitation. The curled up frame of Stitches trembling in the corner looked up at him with piercing golden eyes.

"Get…it…away… I'll tear it _apart!_" Stitches rasped. Sid knelt down in front of the girl.

"Is it…?" Mina began. Sid simply nodded before picking the shaking Stitches up and standing up with her.

"We had her father out of here the second we knew about this student. We've got to get her out, too." Sid replied. Mina nodded and worriedly followed Sid out into the corridor. About halfway down, the three encountered Marie.

"Stitches!" Marie yelled, running towards Sid.

"It's the madness. She was in the bathroom, a-and then she… Marie, she's…" Mina fretted before Marie rested her hand on her shoulder.

"Get her back to the laboratory. I'm going to go and try to defuse the situation. Mina, you need to get out of here." Marie said, trying to stay calm.

Mina nodded adamantly and ran past Sid, trying to push the visage of her mad best friend to the back of her mind. She eventually ran out to the front of Shibusen, and had met up with Joseph and Thomas.

"Mina." Joseph whispered as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. Mina laced her fingers up into his black mop of hair.

"Joseph." she replied. Thomas' breathing became more ragged and he threw his hands behind his head.

"Where's Stitches?" Thomas asked. Mina turned to Thomas, taking his hand in hers and holding him close. She was like his big sister, and he was her little brother. She called him that and treated him as such.

"They're trying to get her out, baby brother. I promise." Mina said. Thomas' breathing became quicker and Mina fought back tears.

"Is she going to be alright?" Thomas asked. Mina sighed and looked down.

"I don't know… I hope so."

* * *

Stitches woke up in her old bedroom in the laboratory. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She glanced over at her side table, a glass of water and some small shinigami skull shaped pills gracing it. She'd seen these before… she could swear her father took them. There was a small handwritten note next to it.

_Take two whenever you awake. They're anti-madness suppressants. Your father and I are in the living room, come out once you've taken them.  
-Spirit._

She raised an eyebrow and sighed, popping two of the tablets out of the packaging and swallowing them with a drink of water. She sighed and got out of bed. The last thing she remembered that day was walking into the gymnasium and facing a rather crazed looking student…

Stitches quickly slid out of bed, put her glasses back on and walked out into the living room, only to be encountered by the visages of her rather exasperated looking father and her Uncle Spirit.

"Uh, Papa, Uncle Spirit?" she asked, scratching her head.

"Stitches… did you take your anti-madness suppressant?" Spirit asked.

"Yeah… what's going on?" Stitches asked. Stein turned to her, his green eyes laced with something she'd never seen before. A weakness. A vulnerability.

"Stitches, come and sit down." Spirit said, an unusual solemnity to his tone. Stitches obliged, sitting next to her father and across from Spirit.

"Stitches, at Shibusen, they've found out that one of the students holds a special type of internal madness. A radiating madness. Do you get what I mean?" Spirit asked. Stitches nodded.

"You mean they project their madness on others, as well as… Oh, no." Stitches gasped. Spirit's eyes softened as realisation dawned over the silver-haired girl.

"I'm…I'm susceptible to it, aren't I?" Stitches asked. Spirit nodded sadly.

"But… But my wavelength. What's the point if I can't get near madness?" Stitches asked.

"No, no. Naigus says she can keep it under control. Plus, it's not just madness that your wavelength can help." Spirit said, reaching out his hand to the young girl, who returned the grasp. She looked up at him, her golden eyes teary.

"What's wrong with Papa?" Stitches asked. Spirit sighed.

"He's convinced that he's the one who's done this. But, I _tried_ to tell him that it could just be a coincidence, that-"

"Spirit, don't give me that _bull-"_

"_Stein,_ stop." Spirit said.

"- Shut up! Of _course_ it's my fault she's susceptible to it." Stein said, standing up and walking off into his room.

"Papa!" Stitches cried out. Spirit sighed, letting go of Stitches' hand.

"Do you want to go and talk to him?" Spirit asked. Stitches nodded.

"It's not… am I going to be alright? How is this going to affect me?" Stitches asked.

"Well, I don't know about you," Spirit smirked, "but I know a guy who's highly susceptible to madness. He's pretty much the most powerful guy I know, a great woman on his arm, not to mention he's got a pretty awesome daughter."

Stitches smiled slightly and stood up, hugging her uncle tightly.

"Thanks, Uncle Spirit." Stitches whispered. Spirit smiled and hugged back. He'd been forced to mature ever since his daughter had gotten married and become an adult herself. Stitches let go of his grasp, walking off into her parents' bedroom.

"Papa?" Stitches asked, quietly. Her father was laying back on the bed, his hands behind his head, his eyes closed.

"Oh, Papa." Stitches said quietly, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to Stein. Stein cracked open one eye before sighing and sitting up slightly.

"Stitches…"

"Papa, don't do this to yourself." Stitches said.

"I've done this to you, why not punish myself?" Stein asked. Stitches shook her head and resisted the urge to slap her father across the face.

"Papa, don't. You and Mama… if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here. And, if susceptibility to madness is part of the deal, well, then, so be it." Stitches said. Stein's eyes opened completely.

"Your mother and I had a conversation about this. You were two. And your mother said that it wasn't going to happen…" Stein trailed off.

"Yes, but Mama says a lot of things. Mama said she wouldn't cry when I started at Shibusen. Or when I moved out. But… well, put it this way… now we can be crazy together." Stitches smiled, her golden eyes wide. Stein couldn't help but smirk as he sat himself up, shaking his head.

"You're too smart for your own good, you know that?" Stein asked. Stitches smirked.

"I got that from you, too." Stitches remarked. Stein chuckled and rested his arm around Stitches' shoulder.

"I wonder if your mother's dealt with that student, yet." Stein said. Stitches flopped back on the bed, resting against Stein's side.

"Probably. Knowing her, definitely." Stitches replied, a smirk on her face.

* * *

"Okay, get the poor thing out of here." Marie sighed, watching as the student who was previously inflicted with madness was carried out of the room on a stretcher. Marie sighed as she slumped against the wall, shaking. Naigus noticed Marie's condition and walked over to her, sitting alongside of the blonde Deathscythe.

"Marie, are you alright?" Naigus asked. Marie sighed and shook her head.

"Franken's at home with Stitches… she's got his weakness." Marie said.

"What, you batting your eyelids?" Naigus asked, Marie looked at Naigus and smiled.

"No, Mira. The madness." Marie sighed, her smile quickly disappearing.

"I know. But, we can keep Stitches' under control. I know we can." Naigus said. Marie sighed with relief.

"That's reassuring… I suppose." Marie said. Naigus stood up and helped Marie to her own feet.

"Come on, you'd better get back to your crazies." Naigus said.

"They're not _crazy,_ they're just… more likely to be crazy than others." Marie said.

Naigus laughed slightly and walked out of the gymnasium. Naigus left to deal with the defused student while Marie made her way back to the laboratory. She arrived back to see Spirit, Stein and Stitches sitting in the living room, along with Stitches' three roommates.

"Marie!" they all called, the students adding 'sensei' to the end and Stitches calling 'Mama.'

"Shelley." Marie said, racing over to her daughter, her first natural, maternal instinct. After making sure she was okay, her second natural compulsion kicked in, and she checked over her partner just as thoroughly.

"I'm fine, Marie." Stein replied, gently wrapping his hand around Marie's wrist to stop her moving. He looked over at her and then looked at Stitches. Marie nodded knowingly. She walked back over to Stitches and wrapped her arms around her.

"Mama..." Stitches whispered.

"It's okay, baby." Marie whispered, her arms going slack around her daughter.

"Did you deal with the student?" Spirit asked. Marie nodded.

"Poor little thing. He couldn't control it." Marie sighed, resting her weight on Stein and protectively placing a hand over his heart. Marie looked up at Stein and then down at Stitches. Spirit noticed this and looked over at Mina, Thomas and Joseph.

"Come on, I think Stitches'll be staying with her parents tonight." Spirit said. The three nodded and walked past the small family, Mina hugging Stitches and Thomas apprehensively doing the same as they went past. Joseph, however, went for a more humorous approach.

"I'm eating your ramen tonight." he said. Stitches smiled slightly and waved the three off, Mina hand in hand with Joseph, Thomas with his hands awkwardly in his pockets as they left. Spirit left soon after, leaving the three sitting on the couch in solemn silence. Stitches had a firm grasp on her father's labcoat, Marie resting herself against Stitches, gently stroking her hair.

"I'm going to be okay, right?" Stitches asked her parents. They looked down at her. Marie nodded.

"Of course you are. You've been through worse than this." Marie said.

"Like that time you stuck that crayon up your nose when you were four." Stein remarked.

"Or that time that you covered your room in talcum powder and hand soap and then proceeded to lick the carpet." Marie added.

"Or that time we caught you tasting the toilet cleaner." Stein added once more.

"Which she did twice." Marie replied. Stitches' eyes widened.

"I get the point, Mama, Papa, thank you." Stitches replied, working hard to suppress a smirk.

"You'll be fine." Marie smiled.

**A/N: She crazy. LOL, no. That probably won't feature too much in the rest of the story, but I really want to keep adding to the facets of Stitches' genetic code. Because, and I'm just suggesting *cough cough* Atsushi Ohkubo *cough cough*, Stein and Marie would have the most badass child.**

**Oh, and that tasting the toilet cleaner thing… I may or may not have done that as a baby… twice.**

**Factoid #2: With the madness, the final comparison between Stitches and Mina and a former pairing is solidified.**

**Stitches and Mina, within their weapon/meister partnership, are supposed to resemble Stein and Spirit respectively. Not only in the fact that Stitches is methodical where Mina is more wild, but the partnership is also similar on a more basic level – Mina is older than Stitches, as it is implied that Spirit is older than Stein (due to Stein referring to Spirit as 'senpai'), and even hair colour, with Stitches' silver and Mina's red. **


	12. By A Thread

**A/N: I've noticed I have a few new readers - to you, hello!**

**This chapter and the following chapter are connected. This chapter's heavier than the other chapters, and we begin a story arc. I swear, I have literary structure!**

"This is The Executioner." Shinigami-sama said, as the image flashed up on the small, portable mirror Mina was holding.

The man looked incredibly threatening. His visage still creeped Mina out.

"Yeah, yeah, we know." Mina said, turning away from the person on the mirror.

"This will be your toughest assignment yet, by far. But it provides a perfect challenge for you, especially considering this is your 50th soul." Shinigami-sama said.

"51st, actually." Mina corrected. Shinigami-sama chuckled.

"Of course. Good luck, you two! If anything happens, don't hesitate to call." Shinigami-sama said.

"We'll be fine, Shinigami-sama." Stitches said, before the mirror went blank. Stitches formed and Mina took a grip of her handle.

"Are you ready?" Mina asked.

"Yeah." Stitches replied. Mina stopped suddenly.

"Holy crap." Mina said, quietly.

"What is it?" Stitches asked.

"His s-soul response…" Mina replied. The Executioner's soul response was strong, and Mina could sense it.

"You ready?" Stitches asked. Mina nodded and ran to the small clearing where the menacing figure stood.

"The Executioner?! It's ham-" Mina began.

"Mina, shut up." Stitches cried. Mina smirked widely as the Executioner turned around. He spoke no words, but he was dressed completely in large, creaking armour.

"Let's _go!_" Mina cried, running towards the Executioner at great speed. She wasn't sure how well her Soul Menace ability would work with the heavy armour, so she decided to attack with her weapon.

"Mina, left!" Stitches yelled. Mina leapt to the left, causing the Executioner to overbalance, and Mina took advantage of this.

With an almighty scream, Mina struck the Executioner in the lower back, causing him to jolt and groan. The two of them sparred for a while, the Executioner's heavy frame preventing him from moving too far. Mina smashed Stitches into the Executioner's armour once again, and she seemed to hurt him.

"Mina, what is it?" Stitches asked as Mina stood back.

"I got a good blow in, I think." Mina said, trying to catch her breath.

"Alright, he's gonna get back up, though." Stitches said.

"Alright, alright." Mina took a deep breath, turning around, thinking that the Executioner was incapacitated.

However, he didn't seem too injured when he struck Mina backwards, causing her to skid on her backside across the clearing.

"Aah!" Mina exclaimed, looking at the small gashes on her legs.

The split second Mina looked away was the split second the Executioner brought down a bladed fist.

"_**Mina!**_"

Before Mina could react, Stitches had taken human form and had shielded the attack.

"_Stitches!_" Mina screamed as her best friend's blood spilt onto her, her body flying nearly five feet away due to the force of the punch. The Executioner fled from the scene as Mina continued screaming over the bloodied visage of her weapon.

"Stitches, no!" Mina screamed, as the little colour Stitches had in her face drained.

The Executioner had punched Stitches with his razor blade fist, the wound slicing from her ribcage to her hip.

"M-Mina." Stitches rasped, quietly, her consciousness ebbing like a wave. Mina was crying, by this point, and she didn't know what to do.

"Stitches, why did you do that?" Mina asked, through loud sobs.

"A weapon's…duty i-is… to protect… their m-meister." Stitches said, before her eyes finally closed. Mina shook her head in denial.

"Stitches…" Mina cried, taking her jacket and tying it around her wound. Mina tried to get her to stay awake, but she decided that help was the thing that she needed.

"No! Stitches… No!" Mina exclaimed, jumping to her feet. As she did, the small mirror fell out of her pocket.

"Holy crap!" Mina exclaimed, picking up the small mirror. Luckily, it hadn't broken, so Mina blew shaky, hot air on it. As she shakily wrote down the number for Shinigami-sama's mirror, she looked over and heard Stitches give a small grunt.

"Heya, hey- Mina?" Shinigami-sama stopped as he saw Mina's tear-streaked face.

"Shinigami-sama, Stitches, she's… You gotta send help. Now." Mina said, trying to stay calm.

"What's wrong with her?" Shinigami-sama asked.

"She's bleeding, she's got a really… a really big wound from… just send help!" Mina yelled. Shinigami-sama gave a noise of affirmation.

"I'll send someone as soon as possible. Do not move Stitches unless you are put in immediate danger. Please stay safe." Shinigami-sama said. Mina only managed to nod through tears as the mirror went blank. She knelt down next to Stitches again, trying to keep her warm.

"Stitches… come on, Stitches. You gotta wake up… you just gotta! Come on, sweetie. Come on, you got me, you've got your parents, you've got Blondie now… you've just gotta wake up." Mina said, tears falling from her eyes, still. Mina took Stitches' hand in hers.

"Come on… just squeeze my hand. Please." Mina whispered. Stitches' hand did not move. Mina shook her head, sitting down and pulling her silver hair out of her face.

"Stitches…" Mina said, still scoping around for the Executioner, just in case he could disguise his soul response.

Just then, Stitches' hand tightened slightly around Mina's.

"Stitches!" she exclaimed. There was nothing else. No eyes opening, no speaking, just a little squeeze of the hand.

"Stitches, it's okay, we're going to get someone here soon." Mina said, quietly.

After a few more minutes, help arrived. A senior weapon and meister had been assigned to find the Executioner, and Naigus had arrived to tend to Stitches and Mina.

"Naigus-sensei." Mina said, tearstained eyes looking at the school nurse.

"Mina. Are you hurt?" Naigus asked, tilting the teenager's head up.

"No, no, Stitches! Fix Stitches!" Mina choked, pushing Naigus' hands away. Naigus nodded and looked down at the pale frame of Stitches. She looked incredibly shaky and weak.

"Alright, Mina, don't freak out, but she's not-" Naigus began.

"_No!_ Don't say that, don't even-" Mina fretted.

"No, I was only going to say that she's not looking very good at the moment. We'd best get her back to the infirmary." Naigus said, wrapping a blanket around the still unmoving Stitches.

"Oh. A-Alright." Mina said, standing up. Naigus brought in a stretcher which was being carried by a couple of men Mina had seen hanging about the infirmary before. They carefully moved Stitches onto the stretcher and lifted her up.

"Mina, we'll get you some help in a second, okay?" Naigus asked. Mina shook her head.

"No, just help Stitches. Please." Mina insisted.

* * *

"And so, if your weapon is unable to form-" Stein was cut off teaching his meisters-only class by Spirit coughing and Sid standing in the doorway.

"Yes?" Stein asked. Both Spirit and Sid looked unusually solemn.

"Stein, can I talk to you?" Spirit asked. Stein nodded and placed the textbook down on the desk, a book he hated teaching from, and walked over to Spirit. Sid walked over and picked up the textbook, causing Stein to raise an eyebrow. Thomas looked down to Oliver, who was one of the few people in the class he could call a friend, seeing as Mina was on a mission.

"What is he-?"

"_Stein_." Spirit said firmly, walking Stein out of the room. In the classroom, Thomas looked down at Oliver.

"_Can you see anything?_" Thomas asked. Oliver looked out of the window and saw Marie trembling.

"Something seems to be wrong with Marie-sensei." Oliver replied in a whisper. This worried Thomas, but he tried to push any negative thoughts to the back of his head.

In the corridor, Marie stood, completely motionless and white as a sheet, her eyes ringed with red.

"Marie?" Stein asked, immediately wrapping his arms around Marie, who went weak with the support. Marie couldn't speak.

"Spirit, what's wrong with her?" Stein asked. Spirit took a deep breath in.

"You might want to sit down." Spirit said.

By this time, Stein was completely confused. Marie had started sobbing once again. Stein, who had Marie holding onto his hand and leaning against him, and Spirit walked to a spot in the hall which had a bench. The three sat down, Spirit, then Stein and Marie on the end.

"What's happened to her, Spirit?" Stein could gather that much.

"Stein, I'm-"

"Spirit, tell me what has happened to _my daughter._" Stein said, adamantly.

"She and Mina went to fight the Executioner, and…" Spirit looked away. He cared for the girl as well.

"And what?!" Stein asked, more aggressive this time.

"She got hurt, Stein! The Executioner went to hit Mina while she wasn't looking, and she took human form in order to protect her, and…" Spirit said, but he stopped as Stein's face turned completely gormless.

"Stein, I'm sorry…" Spirit said.

"Is she okay?" Stein asked, quietly.

"I don't know, I didn't-"

"What do you _mean_ you don't know?" Stein asked, assertively.

"They didn't tell me, Stein." Spirit tried to speak gently. Stein looked up at Spirit and his words caught in his throat. He tried once again, and though his jaw was moving and his mind was working, the words wouldn't form.

"Stein, it's okay."

"_It's not okay! _My daughter might be dying, Spirit, _it is most definitely not okay!_" Stein hissed. Marie whimpered and dark blue and green eyes flicked to her.

"Please stop fighting. Not now." Marie said, her words coming in short breaths as she tried not to cry. Stein and Spirit looked at one another, Stein holding Marie's hand tighter as she shook.

As Spirit went to speak again, they heard a commotion at the end of the hallway. Naigus cleared a path through the hallway, followed closely by an unmoving figure on a stretcher.

"_Stitches!_" Stein stood up and Spirit grabbed his shoulder.

"Stop, Stein!" Spirit exclaimed.

"Let me _go!_" Stein yelled, lurching out of Spirit's reach and towards the infirmary. Naigus stood in front of him and pressed her hand to his chest.

"Franken, you can't be in here." Naigus said, sternly.

"Mira, I-"

"Franken, you know the rules. I'll keep you posted, I'll do everything in my power." Naigus said, grabbing the door of the infirmary.

And before the door closed, all Stein saw was the bloodied, covered shape of Stitches.

**A/N: Goodness.**

**Factoid #3: It's often when we fear we may lose someone we love that we look back at the early years of their life.**

**Three things were determined from the beginning of the series about the baby who would eventually become Stitches – The fact that the Stein/Marie baby would be a girl, the fact that she would be a weapon **_**and**_** that her name would be Shelley.**


	13. In The Balance

**A/N: I wasn't going to post this so quickly. But I got a couple of PM's from people who seem really worried! I'm sorry! Here you go, everyone.**

"Spirit, let me through." Stein said, trying to break past the defences of the redheaded Deathscythe in order to get into the infirmary where he _knew_ his daughter was.

"No." Spirit replied, still holding back the slightly shorter man.

"Let me _go!_" Stein yelled.

"Stein, no." Spirit replied, insistently.

"I have to go in there!" Stein exclaimed.

"You can't, Stein." Spirit replied, trying to keep his composure in light of the stressful situation.

"But it's my daughter!" Stein yelled back, looking Spirit dead in the eyes, barely able to make out the bloodied silhouette of Stitches in the infirmary.

"And that's _exactly_ why you can't go in there! Stein, you can't do anything now! You've got to trust that they'll do the best for her!" Spirit replied, making sure to convey all the truth.

"But…But she's my daughter…" Stein trailed off, his muscles becoming slack and his eyes clouding. Spirit sighed. He'd never seen Stein this emotional.

"Come on. You need to go back to Marie." Spirit said, patting Stein on the shoulder and turning him around.

"Spirit…?" Stein asked, his voice small and solemn.

"Mmhm?" Spirit asked.

"What if… what if she doesn't…?" Stein mumbled. Spirit shook his head.

"Don't even think about that. She's the daughter of two of the strongest people I know. She's gonna be fine." Spirit replied. Stein dropped his shoulders.

"How did you deal with Maka being put in situations like this?" Stein asked. Even he knew he was in trouble when he was asking Spirit for advice.

"Maka's a meister, Stitches is a weapon, so it's a little different. But, when Maka got hurt, I turned into a snivelling mess. So, you're already ahead of me on that one." Spirit smirked. Stein rolled his eyes as they finally got back to the bench Marie was sitting on.

"Go." Spirit mouthed. Stein walked over to Marie who simply grabbed his labcoat and began to sob once again.

"Stein…" Marie sobbed. Spirit walked over to them and sat on the other side of Marie.

"She's going to be fine. She's always been a fighter." Spirit said, knowing that Stein, no matter how strong a façade he put up for his partner, would lose it if he talked about his daughter.

Spirit, Stein and Marie all leant back against the wall, waiting for any news on the injured teen.

* * *

Marie sat at the bed of her still unconscious daughter, holding her small, pale hand in hers. Her chest rose and fell along with the sheets of the bed. Although it was probably not the best place for Stitches to be, she was still too weak to move out of the infirmary.

Meanwhile, a blonde boy and his dark-haired weapon were tearing through the hallways of Shibusen, having just heard the news that one of their best friends had been gravely wounded in battle.

Thomas and Joseph ran towards the infirmary, having to grab the doorframe in order to stop. Naigus turned around at the calamity the boys made.

"What are you- Thomas, Joseph." Naigus said, stopping as she recognised the boys.

"Naigus-sensei, is she o-okay?" Thomas stammered. Naigus nodded.

"Do you want to see her?" Naigus asked. Thomas nodded, wringing his hands. Naigus nodded and pulled the curtain back, revealing not only Stitches, but her mother sitting next to her.

"Shit." Joseph muttered under his breath. He looked up at Thomas, shaking his head.

"I can't go in there. You go." Joseph said. Thomas inhaled and walked towards the unconscious girl and her mother.

"Thomas… you're here to see Stitches?" Marie asked, her voice notably weak.

"Yeah." Thomas nodded, sitting next to the silver haired girl and gritting his teeth. Marie looked at him with sympathetic golden eyes. She glanced down at her daughter as Thomas gripped the side of the bed, taking a deep breath in.

"You like her, don't you?" Marie asked. Thomas looked up at Marie and was sure he could have passed out there and then.

"Wh-What do you… What?" Thomas asked. Marie gave a small smile and brushed Stitches' fringe out of her face.

"She likes you too, Thomas. She really does." Marie replied. Thomas looked up at Marie and raised an eyebrow.

"She doesn't. Nobody does." Thomas shook his head.

"Thomas," Marie sighed, "you're a lovely boy. You're kind, considerate, smart… Any girl would be lucky to have you." Thomas looked down at Stitches and dropped his head.

"I want Stitches to be _any girl."_

Thomas couldn't quite believe he'd admitted to Marie that he liked her daughter, but he continued nonetheless. His words wouldn't stop.

"…But she's not just any girl. She's… she's Stitches." he murmured. Marie gave a small smile and nodded.

"She's a smart girl. But she's sensitive, so you have to take that into account." Marie began. Thomas looked up at her and she continued to speak.

"She can be very stubborn at times, so you've got to watch out for that." Marie began. Thomas smiled and gave a small laugh.

"You're telling me." Thomas began. Marie smiled and exhaled.

"But, right now, she just needs your help to get better. Okay?" Marie asked. Thomas nodded and he sat forward in the chair.

"Of course, Ms Mjolnir." he remarked.

* * *

Mina had taken over from Thomas and sat with Marie, sitting at their daughter and best friend's bedside as vigilantly as the visitors before. Marie glanced at her daughter, her face slightly bruised.

"Baby…" Marie whispered, pressing her hand to the side of her daughter's face.

When she groaned, Marie gasped.

"Stitches?" Marie asked, standing up and taking her daughter's hand tightly in hers. Mina stood up at the other side of the bed, trading disbelieving glances with Marie every so often. Stitches coughed slightly, squeezing her eyes shut tightly and trying to sit herself up, wincing as she did so.

"No, no, no, wait for Naigus, sweetie." Marie said, trying to hold back tears. Stitches' eyes blinked open, the light stinging them.

"Mama… Mama, it's too bright." Stitches said, quietly. Marie nodded, tears falling from her eyes, and turned to the bandaged nurse who had walked through the curtains.

"Stitches… hey." Naigus said, walking to the side of the infirmary bed and turning the overhead light off.

"Where am I?" Stitches asked. By this point, Mina was nearly crying, Marie had her arm around Mina's shoulder and was crying herself, and Naigus was checking up on Stitches.

"Well, you're in the infirmary at Shibusen. Do you remember what happened?" Naigus asked, wrapping a blood pressure cuff around Stitches' arm.

"I… I got hit." Stitches said, leaning back.

"Yeah, you did." Naigus said. Stitches lifted her hand to Marie, who took it and knelt down.

"Mama." she whispered. Marie sighed and wiped the tears away from her uncovered eye.

"You scared the _life_ out of me, Shelley." Marie whispered. Stitches took a sharp breath in, trying not to cry herself. Marie only ever called Stitches by her real name when she was really worried about her, or when she was angry.

"I'm sorry." she replied, quietly. Marie shook her head.

"I'd have done the same." Marie replied. Mina stepped forwards and hugged Stitches gently.

"You didn't have to do this for me." Mina said. Stitches smiled.

"Don't give me that." Stitches said. Marie stood up and walked out of the infirmary, standing in the doorway. She was met with Stein, Spirit, Thomas and Joseph, all standing there for the exact same person. Stein looked down at Marie, expectantly, and she looked back with teary eyes. She simply nodded and smiled.

"She's awake." Marie mouthed, before half-hugging, half-collapsing onto Stein. Stein rested his hand on her back and rested his forehead on the top of her head.

"You want to come in and see her?" Marie asked. Stein nodded. Marie looked back at the other three waiting at the door.

"If you're quiet, I trust Naigus-sensei will ignore the crowd." Marie said. Spirit smiled and Joseph looked at Thomas, whose face was plastered in relief. He knew that his meister liked Stitches, and he'd get them together if it was the last thing he did. The five of them filed back into the room and were met by the smiling visage of Stitches.

"You will be the death of me." Stein said, stepping forward and placing his hands on the edge of the bed. Stitches smiled and placed her hand on top of his.

"I love you too, Papa." Stitches replied.

"You know I love you." Stein replied, sitting down as Spirit stood forward, shaking his head.

"Trying to upstage your parents already, I see." Spirit smirked.

"I try." Stitches replied. Joseph then stepped forward and crossed his arms.

"Always the attention seeker." Joseph said.

"You're just jealous that you don't have a scar bigger than some third world countries." Stitches said. Joseph nodded.

"A little." Joseph said. Stitches smiled widely and watched as Thomas walked forward, her glasses in his hand. Stitches looked at her mother. Marie looked at Stein. Stein looked back at Marie.

"Come on, let's give Stitches some space." Marie said. Marie, Stein, Spirit, Mina and Joseph all left the small cubicle, Marie giving a smile to Stitches before leaving. When they all left, Thomas looked down at Stitches.

"I thought you were going to die." Thomas said, quietly.

"I'm sorry." Stitches began. Thomas shook his head wildly.

"Don't apologise, Stitches. You did it for your meister… that's amazing." Thomas said quietly. Stitches' breaths became shorter and her eyes grew wide as she realised how close the blonde was to her…

"Come on, Thomas. We'd better let Stitches get some rest." Naigus said. Thomas looked back at the nurse and nodded.

"I'll see you soon, Stitches." Thomas smiled. Stitches nodded and exhaled, watching as the blonde boy walked out.

"Stitches, I'm sorry if I intruded on something… uh… _personal…_" Naigus began.

"No, Aunt Mira. It's okay." Stitches reassured her, and she nodded and walked out of the room. Stitches sighed and sunk back into herself, a tiny smile on her face.

Everyone she wanted to see was there when she woke up. Her Mama, Papa, Mina, Joseph, Spirit…

And Thomas.

Thinking of him made her smile twice as wide.

**A/N: SCHWAAH OUR BABY HAS A CRUSH ^_^**

**I mean… *insert insightful author comment here***

**Factoid #4: This chapter shows some of Joseph's vulnerabilities, specifically in relation to Stitches' injuries. He avoids seeing her until the very last minute, despite the fact that he cares deeply for her.**

**Joseph, Mina' love interest and Thomas' weapon, has been created in the author's mind palace to have an appearance, and to some extent, a temperament which is largely modelled around that of **_**Fullmetal Alchemist**_** character, Roy Mustang. Therein lies the irony, however – Joseph is a pistol, and Roy Mustang is notoriously hopeless with firearms.**


	14. Weapon To Weapon

"Come on, Stitches." Mina said, pulling open the curtains in their shared bedroom. Thomas walked in after her, a cup of tea in his hand. He placed it down on the side table and Stitches gave a small, grateful smile. It had been a month since the accident, and it had been a slow recovery.

"I don't want to get up." Stitches huffed. Mina sighed.

"Come on, you gotta get up, we've got to clean your wound, then it's anti-biotic time! Come on, sounds fun!" Mina said, brightly. She had taken a lot of the responsibility regarding Stitches' care, considering the way that she got the wounds.

"Sounds like fun." Stitches said, sitting herself up gently and taking the cup of tea off of the bedside table. After sliding her glasses on with her bare hand and took a sip of the tea.

"Stitches, come on. You've got to get up and start training again." Mina said, sitting on Stitches' bed.

"I don't want to." Stitches replied, a scowl on her face. Mina sighed.

"Well, you're gonna. Now, come on. Your parents are going to be here in twenty minutes." Mina said, taking the mug from Stitches' hand and making her lay down. After pulling out some antiseptic wipes and some adhesive bandages, Mina turned to Thomas.

"Out." Mina said. Thomas did not argue, and simply stood up, walked out of the room and shut the door. Mina sighed and turned to Stitches, Stitches taking her shirt off, a crop top her only covering.

"Right, ready?" Mina asked. Stitches nodded and grit her teeth. Mina grabbed the corner of the large bandage and began to rip it off, painfully slowly.

"Holy mother of- Just _rip it off!_" Stitches screamed. Mina made a noise of confusion, placed her hand on one side of Stitches' stomach and ripped the dressing off in one foul swoop. The look of pain in Stitches' eyes was almost hidden by the rage. After several profanities, Stitches' words became coherent once more.

"_I'm going to kill you!_" Stitches yelled. Mina winced and nervously spoke up.

"You gotta lie down." Mina said, adopting a defensive stance in case Stitches formed. Stitches gasped and laid back down, her hip and stomach hurting.

"Is it sore today?" Mina asked. Stitches nodded.

"It's been a month. It's supposed to be better." Stitches said, trying not to cry. Mina sighed and looked over at Stitches.

"Honey, you knew it was gonna take a while." Mina said, kneeling down beside Stitches.

"It's not _fair._ I just… I just want to get better, you know?" Stitches said, through sobs. Mina sighed and pulled Stitches' hair out of her face.

"It's okay, sweetie." Mina said, gently. Stitches snivelled and rubbed at her eyes.

"Come on, let's get this cleaned up." Stitches sighed, propping herself up a little on pillows. Mina took one of the wipes and cleaned Stitches' wound. She still felt responsible for the injury, even though Stitches had told her time and time again that she wasn't.

"You've got that 'I'm-gonna-kill-you' look on your face, Stitches." Mina said. Stitches squeezed her eyes shut.

"_That's because I'm gonna kill-_"

"Finished!" Mina said, swiftly. Stitches smirked and sighed with relief as Mina finally put another bandage back on her wound, allowing her to sit up and pull her shirt back on.

"I reckon you finally scare me more than your father scares me." Mina said.

"My father doesn't scare you at all," Stitches said, sliding out of bed, shakily, "I remember you once describing him as 'a big, stabby teddy bear.'"

Mina looked up, trying to remember. She then smiled.

"Well, congratulations, you're scarier than that." Mina said. Stitches rolled her eyes.

"Oh, ha, ha, ha." Stitches said, walking out of her room and swiftly flopping down on the couch.

"C'mon, Stein, you gotta get up." Joseph said. Stitches turned to the pistol and huffed.

"Really? You too?" Stitches asked. Joseph nodded and Stitches groaned.

"Your girlfriend roped you into this, didn't she?" Stitches asked. Just then, a knock on the door signalled the entrance of Marie and Stein.

"Hey, baby girl. How're you doing?" Marie asked. Stitches pushed herself to a standing position and shrugged.

"Meh. So-so, I guess." she said, walking over to her mother and hugging her gently.

"How's your recovery going?" Stein asked his daughter. Stitches shrugged.

"Not great. But what can I do?" Stitches walked over to him, hugging him gently as to not hurt her wound. She stepped back and Stein began to speak.

"Well, you could start by going outside." Stein crossed his arms. Stitches looked up at him and sighed.

"Do I have to go out and do things?" Stitches asked, shuffling over to one of the dining chairs and sitting herself down on it.

"It's been a month, honey. I know it's going to be hard, but you've got to get out." Marie said, quietly. Stitches sighed, swinging her legs back and forward. Stitches was short and the chairs were relatively tall. Mina smiled at her friend.

"I'm sorry, but how on Earth are you so short with a father like the Doc?" Mina asked. Stein rolled his eyes and smirked.

"Marie, have you got something to tell me?" Stein asked. Marie smirked.

"Oh, yes, because I slept with a lot of other silver haired men around the time she was conceived." Marie replied.

"Oh, no, Mama, don't." Stitches said, sticking her fingers in her ears. Mina laughed slightly and jumped off of the kitchen counter where she was sitting.

"Come on, Stitches. We'll go up to the laboratory. You just need to get out of the house." Mina said, grabbing Stitches' wrist and standing her up. Stitches sighed.

"Mama?" Stitches asked. Marie shrugged.

"I'm on Mina's side." Marie said. Stitches gasped.

"But… Papa?" Stitches asked. Stein shook his head.

"You've got to get out of here." Stein said.

"_Papa! _Not you too!" Stitches exclaimed. Stein crossed his arms and shrugged, and Stitches gave a large huff and an exasperated glare.

"Hurry up." Stitches huffed. Mina squealed and smiled.

"Let me get my phone." Mina said.

* * *

Stitches sighed and looked down at her canvas sneaker-clad feet as she sat one of the benches out the front of her old residence. Mina, Thomas and Joseph were chasing each other around like five-year-olds, and Marie was simply sitting and watching them. Stein walked over to Stitches and sat on the other side of the bench, looking over at his rather upset looking daughter.

"Are you alright?" Stein asked. Stitches looked up at Stein and shook her head. Stein sighed and slid over to the gloomy teen.

"I feel completely inept." Stitches said.

"Why?" Stein asked. Stitches looked over at her father and sniffed slightly.

"I… I…" Stitches murmured.

"Come on, you can tell me." Stein spoke quietly, and Stitches looked up at him, on the verge of tears.

"I – I can't form, Papa." Stitches whispered. Stein sighed and gently grasped Stitches' shoulder.

"It happens to a lot of people, Stitches." Stein said. Stitches looked up at Stein and sniffed.

"Really?" Stitches asked. Stein nodded.

"You've been through trauma. You don't expect to come back just like that." Stein said.

"I just… I don't want to let people down." Stitches said. Stein shook his head and chuckled.

"You're your mother's daughter. You're the only people in the world who care about other people more than themselves when they're trying to get better." Stein said. Stitches looked down and rubbed at her eyes.

"Wh-What i-if it…" Stitches trailed off. Stein glanced down at her and she looked up at him, the same look in her eyes as Stein had when he came back from an episode of madness – vulnerability.

"What is it?" he asked. Stitches snivelled and she tried to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.

"What if I never form again?" she whimpered, and she couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Her shoulders shook and Stein's eyes widened, and he glanced up at Marie, who noticed the scene. She stood up and walked over to the two, which piqued Mina's attention. Stein glanced up at the redhead and walked over to her while Marie wrapped her arms around Stitches.

"Sweetheart, what's the matter?" Marie asked. Stitches gave a small hic and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Mama, I can't form." she sobbed, and Marie held her daughter tightly.

"Baby, it's okay." Marie whispered. but Stitches shook her off.

"No, Mama! It's not okay! _I'm useless!_"

The cry rang out through the entire yard, all eyes flicking to the silver-haired girl.

"So, no, it's not okay! It's not even _close_ to okay!" Stitches cried again, standing up and running into the laboratory, leaving Marie and everyone else shocked.

"I'll go." Mina sighed, but she felt a hand grip her shoulder.

"Don't. I know what it's like – if I was in her state and I had a meister preach at me, I'd punch them in the face." Joseph said, walking past Mina and into the laboratory. Mina stood, eyes wide, but let Joseph go nevertheless.

With a small knock on Stitches' bedroom door, Joseph received a groan.

"Go away." Stitches said. Joseph opened the door anyway and Stitches' head was buried into her pillow, save for a millisecond glance at the pistol.

"Who sent you?" Stitches huffed. Joseph held his hands up as if he was surrendering.

"Hey, I'm neutral. I'm Switzerland." Joseph replied. Stitches snivelled and turned over, pulling her pillow over her eyes, trying and failing to stifle her tears.

"Hey, hey, come on," Joseph walked quickly over to Stitches and wrapped his arms around her, "don't cry." he said, quietly.

"It's not like I'm capable of much else." she mumbled. Joseph clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes, pulling the pillow away from her.

"Don't do that. You know that's ridiculous." Joseph looked at Stitches, and she looked up at his defiantly, her eyes narrow and staring.

"Don't gimme that _I'm Doctor Stein's daughter and I'm going to cut you up_ look. It doesn't work on me." Joseph said, crossing his arms.

"I… I know." Stitches sighed, exasperatedly. Joseph rubbed circles into Stitches' back.

"You can talk to me whenever, you know that? There's only so much a meister can do." Joseph gave a smirk, and Stitches blinked up at him, laughing despite herself.

"Come on." Joseph stood up and Stitches followed him.

"And if anyone asks what went on here, I came in and flirted with you a bit, then didn't do anything nice." Joseph continued. Stitches walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and Stitches stood on her tip-toes to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thank you." she said, quietly. Joseph laughed and smiled, turning back to leave the room. Stitches felt a strain in her wound, and she stopped.

"You okay?" Joseph asked. Stitches clutched at her stomach and nodded.

"Yeah, I… Yeah. You go." Stitches insisted. Joseph walked away nervously and Stitches grabbed the doorframe.

As a weapon, Stitches was acutely aware of her own soul. The way it felt, the way it moved and the way it acted.

And, at that very moment… something felt wrong.

**A/N: Well.**

**Factoid #5: While Stitches and Joseph don't interact heavily very often, they are quite close. Their relationship is almost a big brother/little sister relationship, and is somewhat based upon the Spirit/Marie relationship headcanon that can be seen in this series. Like Spirit and Marie, Joseph and Stitches bond over their common weapon status.**


	15. A Helping Hand

**A/N: This chapter actually has Soul in it. He's not been here for ages.**

"Stitches… Stitches, come on!" Mina exclaimed. Stitches started to shake.

"I… I can't do it." Stitches whispered. Maka was supervising the two, and walked over and supported Stitches as her knees went weak. The teacher knelt to the ground.

"Stitches…" Maka said, looking up at the golden eyes that seemed to be trembling with the rest of Stitches' body.

"It's not working." Stitches said, beginning to hyperventilate.

"Stitches, it's not your fault. You've been through an injury, it's-" Maka tried to reassure the young woman, but she was having none of it.

"_No!_ Don't tell me it's not my fault because it is!" Stitches yelled, standing up and running away from the classroom, tears pouring from her eyes.

"Stitches, wait!" Mina yelled, but it was too late. Stitches was out of earshot and down the corridor. Mina stood up and looked up at her teacher.

"I'm sorry, Maka-sensei, she's just… I got her injured and she's stressed out and-" Mina stopped as Maka shook her head.

"The same thing happened to my weapon back when I was at Shibusen." Maka explained. Just then, a lightbulb went off in Maka's head.

"Ah, Mina, do you have another lesson to go to?" Maka asked.

"I've got PE with Naigus-sensei in about ten minutes." Mina replied.

"Okay. I've got to go and speak to someone. Can you stay out of trouble until your next lesson, because if you get in trouble, it's on my back, okay?" Maka asked. Mina nodded.

"Sure. Can you just… let me know what happens with Stitches?" Mina asked. Maka nodded.

"Of course." Maka said. Mina smiled with some relief. Maka turned to go to Shinigami-sama's office and Mina left in the opposite direction.

* * *

Stitches sat outside Shibusen, resting her head on the outside of the building, trying to stop herself from crying.

"_Stupid form… Can't even transform… it's been three months._" Stitches thought to herself. Just then, Maka walked out of the front doors of Shibusen, a relatively familiar looking white-haired man in tow.

"Stitches." Maka said, quietly. Stitches looked up at Maka.

"I'm sorry, Maka-sensei, I'll just go to-" Stitches started.

"Don't give me that Maka-sensei stuff." Maka replied. Stitches blinked twice and sighed.

"You know who this is, right?" Maka asked. Stitches looked up at Soul.

"You're the current Deathscythe, Soul Eater Evans, right? You replaced Uncle Spirit." Stitches asked. Soul bared his shark-like grin.

"I am. Wow… Doctor Stein _really _had a kid. Kinda didn't believe it, when I heard." Soul replied.

"Yep, the woman, the myth, the legend." Stitches shrugged, looking down at her feet. Maka smiled at her student and her former weapon.

"I'll leave you to talk to Soul, alright?" Maka asked.

"Alright, Maka-chan." Stitches said. Maka suppressed a grin at what Stitches had called her and stood up, walking away. Soul sat down, cross-legged, across from the girl who was trying to compose herself in front of Shinigami-sama's current and, if she was being truthful to herself, incredibly attractive, twenty-something scythe. Her Uncle Spirit had recently retired to take on matters closer to home, closer to his daughter and grandson.

"So," Soul said, "I hear you got injured protecting your meister."

"Yeah." Stitches said, rubbing the back of her neck. Soul was a pretty laid back kind of guy, but the title of Shinigami-sama's official Deathscythe came with some intimidating properties.

"Look, don't be nervous. I should be the one who's nervous. Your father's not exactly fond of me." Soul admitted.

"Aside from my mother, my father's not _exactly_ fond of anyone." Stitches replied. Soul grinned and nodded.

"Fair point." Soul replied.

"No offence, but why did Maka ask you to talk to me?" Stitches asked. Soul stood up and stretched his hand out to Stitches.

"Come on." he beckoned. Stitches took his grasp and pulled herself to a standing position. Soul then cleared his throat.

"I'm not being creepy, I swear." Soul said. Stitches raised an eyebrow but understood the sentence when Soul stripped off his t-shirt. Stitches desperately checked her nose for any drops of blood. It was a boy thing; she hoped.

"This right here is why Maka got me to talk to you." Soul said, running his forefinger over the scar that ran along his chest.

"Holy… how did you get that?" Stitches asked.

"Demon Sword." Soul said. Stitches' eyes widened.

"So, what's yours?" Soul asked. Stitches rolled her shirt up slightly, revealing the finally healing scar that trailed from her ribcage to her hip. Soul winced slightly.

"That's pretty bad." Soul said.

"Yeah, I think I win." Stitches said.

"Well, mine's a little older than yours, to be fair." Soul said. Stitches smiled a little.

"Yeah, I suppose." Stitches replied.

"You know, Maka and I had trouble for months after my injury." Soul said, pulling his shirt back over his torso.

"Yeah? Stitches asked.

"We did. Maka had a lot of trouble… blamed herself." Soul said, sitting back down against the wall, next to Stitches.

"Tell me about it. Mina won't listen to me. At all." Stitches huffed.

"Well… have you talked to her about it?" Soul asked. Stitches looked up at the white-haired boy indignantly, and her mood changed in an instant.

"Do I look like an idiot to you? Of _course I have!_"

Soul's eyes widened and he definitely saw a little glint of his meister's influence and both of his his former teachers' genetics in the pint-sized hammer.

"I just… It's no use. Deathscythe or no, nobody can help me, okay? I'm just done." Stitches shook her head and walked away.

"Stitches! Wait!" Soul called. Stitches turned around, and tears had already formed in her eyes.

"I appreciate it. But it's not going to happen, Soul. It's just… not." she turned back around and walked away, beck through the front doors of Shibusen. After about thirty seconds, Maka came back out. She looked around for Stitches, but instead, she just saw her still dumb-struck weapon.

"What happened?" Maka asked. Soul scratched the back of his head and sighed.

"She's lost faith in herself, Maka. There's nothing I can do to try and fix that." Soul murmured.

"But… even Mina couldn't get her back to forming properly. Who can?" Maka asked. Soul looked at her and crossed his arms.

"I don't know. They're weapon and meister, their souls are similar, right? They should, _literally_, be on the same wavelength." Soul said. Maka's eyes widened and she turned to Soul.

"What? What'd I miss?" Soul asked. Maka took a sharp breath in.

"Their souls aren't that similar. Stitches is a _Stein –_ her soul can do what it likes – she can have any meister. But she and Mina have very different souls. Her soul is more similar to… Oh, Death." Maka's eyes widened further.

"Maka, you've lost me." Soul said.

"Please," Maka looked up at the sky and closed her eyes, "please let her run into him. _Please._"

* * *

The silver-haired hurricane came tearing into the library, and her mind told her to go any shelf in the library with the least people browsing in it. She casted her eyes across the room and spotted a shelf with only one person browsing.

_Good, _she thought, _I'll_ _be left alone._

She walked down to stand by that shelf when she took in a little bit more about that one person browsing.

Blonde. Green eyes. Tall. Looks suspiciously like that one she lives with.

"Stitches?" Thomas turned to her, and she tried to will herself to disappear, to no avail. Thomas took a few more steps towards her and she looked up, sheepishly. She was cornered.

"Stitches, have you been crying?" Thomas asked. At that comment, Stitches burst out into tears again. She fully expected Thomas to bolt in the other direction, but he didn't.

He pulled a tissue out of his pocket and he looked at her.

"Give me your glasses." he said. Stitches looked up and was not in the mood to disagree, taking them off and handing them to Thomas. She wiped at her face with the back of her hand as Thomas wiped away the tears from her lenses, and as her eyes readjusted to seeing, she looked up at Thomas' eyes.

_Please, Death, no. Not now. Stitches, you're stupid. Stop!_

"Thanks. I have to go." Stitches took her glasses and turned on the spot, walking as fast as she could without making it look like she was running away from Thomas as if he'd done something inappropriate.

However, the call of "Stitches!" took the subtlety out of her action, and she shook her head wildly and walked quickly out of the library.

"Stitches, wait!"

"_Shh!_" The entire library chorused in whisper to the blonde, but he didn't care. He continued out of the library and only just saw Stitches go around a corner, and he ran down the hallway in pursuit of her.

Stitches' downfall came when she ran into one of the science labs – a dead end.

"Stitches, stop!" he called into the room, but when all he heard were whimpers and cries, he shook his head.

"Stitches…" he said, gently edging towards her.

"Don't! I know that tone, Thomas, and it's never a good one!" Stitches exclaimed.

"What do you me-?" Thomas began.

"Just stop, please. Do you have any _idea_ what it's like to be me? Any at all?" Stitches asked, her voice quieter but somehow her emotion stronger. Thomas walked forward and crossed his arms.

"Enlighten me." he stated. Stitches took a large, teary breath in and the wildness came back.

"From the day I was born, it all started. Will she be a weapon or a meister? Will she be a Deathscythe? Will she be as strong as her dad – and do you know what? There's no out for me, is there?! It's all or nothing, and it's what _everyone expects!_"

Thomas walked closer to her and shook his head.

"No, it isn't." he murmured, gently.

"Thomas, don't eve-"

"I don't expect it." he added.

"What do you mean, of course-"

"It's your turn to stop now, Stitches. If all that made me care about you was your role as a weapon, why would I be friends with you? I can watch from afar. Why would I _live_ with you? Why would I spend so much unnecessary time around a man who scares me half to death, huh? If my only reason for being around you," he began to laugh, "was to see if you were going to be a Deathscythe?"

"I – I – I d-don't…" Stitches stammered.

"I don't care, Stitches. I mean, if it's what you want to do, it's what you want to do, but it's not why I care about you." Thomas as Stitches were less than an arms length apart.

"Thomas…" she said, her voice draining of the animosity.

"It's not why we're friends." his voice got even quieter. Stitches' eyes widened almost imperceptibly, and every fibre in her body was telling her to keep cool.

"It's not why I like you." he quietened again. Stitches swallowed. And, finally, his voice dropped to barely a whisper.

"And it sure isn't why I'm going to kiss you."

Thomas leant forward and his lips pressed against Stitches' and at that very second, it all clicked. Life, school, her weapon form, her feelings, her madness – it was all in balance and nothing affected her.

Her hands, for they had no idea where to rest, flopped around Thomas' shoulders as the kiss deepened. Thomas tried desperately to absorb the hurt and the feelings Stitches was pouring into the kiss. They only broke away when Stitches began to hic from her earlier crying, Thomas pressing his forehead to hers and gently murmuring calming words to her. When both sets of eyes opened, Stitches looked at Thomas and when she bit the corner of her lip, Thomas came to realisation.

"I… O-Oh, D-Death, did I just-" Thomas began. Stitches blinked up at Thomas and pressed her hand ot the side of his face.

"It's okay. It's… It's more than okay."

Thomas gave a tiny, shy smile, and he stepped back. Stitches took a sharp breath in and held her hand out, and almost instantaneously, her fist transformed into a large hammer.

"I… I can half-form again." she stammered.

"Yeah," Thomas scratched the back of his head, "l-look at that." Stitches looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"I have to go and find Maka-sensei." she said, quietly. She walked out of the room and just left the kiss hanging somewhat. Thomas' eyes widened and it all hit him at that moment. He spoke to himself when Stitches left.

"… I have to sit down."

**A/N: … squee.**

**Factoid #6: This chapter sees the most voted-for OC pairing begin to come to fruition. **

**However, this chapter was completely rewritten not long ago, and originally, the pairing began on Stitches' fifteenth birthday. However, the chapter was changed to sixteenth birthday, and instead will resolve the happenings of this chapter.**


	16. Talking It Out

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my pants. I love you, pants x**

* * *

"Happy birthday to you!" the teenagers all finished singing to the now sixteen-year-old, silver haired girl.

"Go on, Stitches, blow out the candles!" Mina urged. Stitches looked around awkwardly. There were a _lot_ of people here, mostly Mina and Joseph's friends.

Stein and Marie had called in earlier in the day, which Stitches was comfortable with. Her godparents had also visited, Joseph not able to wipe the stupid smirk off his face when Azusa was there. Maka and Kid had come over with Junior, and he was quite excited to see his Aunty Stitches. The teenagers found having their teacher over a little awkward, but it was Stitches' birthday, and they knew the Maka was a family friend, so they let it slide.

However, as the afternoon went on, a lot more people filed in. She leant down and blew out all sixteen candles, causing the group to cheer.

"Aw, Stitches, no boyfriends?" Mina asked. Stitches glared at Mina.

"No." she replied, bluntly. She still hadn't told Mina about the kiss she shared with Thomas – and come to think of it, she hadn't spoken to Thomas much since the incident.

"Sorry, sorry." Mina said, a small smirk on her face.

"It's alright. Thanks for all this." Stitches said, though she would have much preferred staying in with pizza and a movie with her three close friends.

"Cake?" Mina asked. Stitches shook her head.

"I feel a little faint. I think I'm going to go and lie down." Stitches said. Mina sighed and pressed the back of her hand to Stitches' forehead.

"Alright. I'll save you a piece of cake. I know it's not because you don't want any ever. It's peanut butter chocolate, for goodness sake." Mina said. Stitches smiled and nodded.

She did love peanut butter. She'd loved it ever since she'd laid eyes on it as a child.

She didn't know why.

She turned on her heel and walked into hers and Mina's bedroom, flopping herself backwards on her bed.

"_Just another year older_." Stitches thought to herself. Just as she was getting heavily into her daydreaming, a knock on the door shook her.

"Can I come in?" the masculine voice called. Stitches looked up to see her blonde friend holding a small, metallic, purple bag.

"Thomas? Hi." Stitches smiled. Thomas walked into the rather messy room, shutting the door behind him.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out there," Stitches asked, sitting up and taking in a sharp breath before continuing, "basking in all the fun?"

"I'm not a fan." Thomas said, sitting across from Stitches on her bed.

"Ooh, join the club." Stitches replied, a wide smile on her face.

"Here. Happy birthday, Stitches." Thomas said, handing Stitches the small bag. Stitches smiled.

"You didn't have to get me anything." Stitches replied, timidly. Thomas shook his head.

"Course I did." Thomas replied. Stitches looked in the bag and took out the small, black box. She cracked it open and saw a little silver necklace, with a pendant shaped like a…

"Oh, Death… Thomas, this is gorgeous. Where the hell did you get this?" Stitches asked. A small hammer graced the end of the thin silver chain.

"Ms Martha knows some people." Thomas said.

"Thomas, this is… thank you so much." she smiled, draping the necklace over her hand. A hammer; it should have been stupid and clichéd, but it wasn't. It was adorable and…_ perfect_.

And then, the elephant in the room came and sat right in between the two.

"Stitches… about the other day." Thomas began.

"Thomas, yeah, I-"

"I know, you want to forget about it, right? Forget it ever happened? Got it." Thomas said, sadly. Stitches shook her head.

"No! Death, no, and… that sounded a little too enthusiastic, didn't it?" Stitches asked. Thomas shook his head.

"No, of course it didn't." he said, with a tiny smile.

"I'm so sorry I just left it hanging. There's was just so much going on, and then your miracle kiss made me form and I-"

"Miracle kiss?" Thomas asked.

"Yes. But I just… I didn't want to do that. And, I just… I liked it." Stitches said, quietly. Thomas gave a wide smile and clasped his hands.

"I liked it too, just saying." Thomas said. Stitches smiled and nodded.

"So… what are we?" Stitches asked, timidly.

"What do you want us to be?" Thomas asked. Stitches hit Thomas in the arm and he sprawled across the bed with a laugh.

"Don't give me that, Thomas. What are we?" Stitches asked. Thomas shrugged and looked at Stitches.

"I don't know… It's _your _birthday, it's hardly fair for me to ask you to be my girlfriend." Thomas stated.

"Well, back up there, soldier." Stitches said, matter-of-factly. Thomas' eyes widened and he gave a little smirk.

"Well, than, Stitches… will you be my girlfriend?" Thomas asked. Stitches giggled and melodramatically fell across the bed, next to Thomas.

"Oh, Thomas, of _course _I will!" she said with such false grandeur that Thomas couldn't help but laugh.

"Good." he smiled. At that moment, Mina poked her head around the doorframe.

"What are you two up to?" Mina asked. Stitches looked at Thomas and her eyes widened, but he gave her a reassuring smile and turned to Mina.

"Well… long story short? Stitches decided it wasn't really fair that only she gets presents. Just because she was born doesn't mean she should be the only one to get some joy, right? So, I got her a necklace and she got me a girlfriend." Thomas said. Mina raised an eyebrow.

"A girlfriend, baby brother? _Who?_" Mina asked – what was this? She'd planned it all perfectly – Thomas and Stitches were going to get together and get married and have little shy, stammering genius children. This was wrong. Thomas shook his head.

"You wouldn't know her. Brown-gold eyes, really short, glasses, silver hair. Weird one." Thomas said. Mina's eyes widened and her eyes flicked back and forward between Thomas and Stitches.

"You two – are you – Really?!" Mina asked, and it looked as if she was about to explode. When they both nodded, she practically did.

"_Death, finally!_" she ran forward and hugged the both of them, pushing them backwards onto the bed. They all laughed before Mina sat them up and asked a few more questions.

Stitches and Thomas held hands all the while.

* * *

Stitches was sitting out in the living room of her apartment across from Mina, in her pyjamas, by torchlight. Thanks to the tumultuous nature of the season Stitches was born in, she was spending the last few minutes of her sixteenth birthday without power.

"My baby's growing up. A boyfriend, geez." Mina fussed. Stitches finished her cake and smiled.

"I suppose I am." Stitches said. Mina smiled and stood up, walking over to the counter.

"Your dad's gonna kill him." Mina said. Stitches gasped.

"Don't say that!" Stitches said. Mina smiled and walked over to Stitches with a pack of matches and a candle.

"Wha-What are you doing?" Stitches asked.

"Well, they say that the candles you leave on your cake-"

"-Represent the number of boyfriends you have, yes, yes. But-"

"So, you've gotta leave a candle now. For Thomas." Mina smiled. Stitches sighed as Mina struck the match. Stitches took the candle and Mina lit it.

"And now, you've got an idiot trailing behind you and looking at your ass, too." Mina said. Stitches narrowed her eyes.

"He's not like that." Stitches said. Mina smirked as she blew out the candle before the wax burnt Stitches.

"He's only like that when you're not looking." Mina remarked. Just then, the clock turned to twelve midnight.

"Well, now it's not your birthday. I can stop pretending to care." Mina said. Stitches smiled.

"I love you, Mina." Stitches smiled.

"I love you too, Stitches." Mina smiled back. She walked over and threw the candle in the bin. She then walked back over to Stitches and took her hands, pulling her to her feet.

"Now, come on. We'd better get to bed." Mina said.

"Why?" Stitches asked.

"Because," Mina began, a wide smirk on her face, "Tomorrow we've got a long day of tag-team annoying the living daylights out of our boyfriends."

"Mina!" Stitches exclaimed.

"Oh, come on." Mina said, walking into hers and Stitches' room and switching on the light.

"Why should I cut you any break at all?" Stitches asked, sliding into bed and taking off her glasses.

"Aw, Stitches, it's not that bad. Plus, you'd better get as much out of Thomas as possible. Because he's dead as soon as the Doc finds out he kissed you." Mina said. Stitches pouted slightly. Mina smirked as she undid her bra and took it off, flicking it halfway across the room without removing her shirt. Stitches smirked.

"What are you smirking at? Is this your way of saying you're not really into Blondie, you're into me?" Mina asked, a wicked smile on her face. Stitches shook her head.

"No," Stitches began, "My mama told me that, once I got the hang of bras, I'd be able to magically take it off without taking off my shirt."

"It's scientifically proven that it's magic." Mina remarked, almost oxymoronically.

"She always said it does and always will mystify men." Stitches said.

"Well, it sure mystifies Joseph." Mina said, switching off the light. Stitches may have been a genius, but it took a little while for that statement to click. However, when it did, it did in a big way.

"_What?!_ What on Earth have you two been doing?!" Stitches exclaimed. Mina laughed slightly and turned over.

"Goodnight, Stitches." Mina smiled. Stitches sighed and turned over, pulling the quilt over her shoulders.

The first sixteen years of Shelley Yumi Stein's life had been pretty eventful, to say the least.

But, at least they were interesting.

And, for the most part, they were pretty great.

**A/N: :D **

**Did anyone catch the reference to Marie's pregnancy in this chapter? I'll put a factoid about it in the next chapter.**

**Factoid #7: As stated in the last factoid, this chapter was originally Stitches' fifteenth birthday party.**

**This chapter was originally written before Stitches and Thomas' school kiss. Originally, Thomas gave Stitches the necklace and asked him to put it on for her. He did, and then they ended up kissing one another.**


	17. Stepping Out Together

**A/N: PAAAAAAARTAAAY. Just a warning; I love StitchesxThomas, but they're sickeningly cute. Come on, they've got matching stutters, for God's sake. This is a bit fluffy, but might be balanced out by Mina and Joseph's actions. That's all I'm saying. Consider yourself warned.**

**And, can I just say, I love writing Thomas being scared shitless of Stein. So, there's gonna be a lot more of it.**

* * *

"Stitches, come on." Mina said, standing outside the bathroom door with curlers in her hair.

"Do I have to?" Stitches asked.

"Yes. Now, come on." Mina said. Stitches sighed and pulled open the bathroom door. Mina put her hands over her mouth and couldn't help but beam with pride.

Stitches didn't wear dresses often. Mina had to take her out to go and buy one, seeing as she'd finally convinced Stitches to go to the end-of-year ball at Shibusen.

The dress was bronze coloured, vaguely similar to Stitches' eyes, with thick straps and a skirt to the knees. Stitches' usually wavy silver hair was straight, and her fringe was thick and straight above her golden eyes. Her shoes were rather tall, and would no doubt pose a challenge, even for the genius weapon.

"Don't say anything." Stitches said, pulling the dress up over her chest.

"You look amazing, honey." Mina said, hugging the girl. Stitches sighed. She'd much rather be in jeans and a t-shirt.

"Mmhm. Come on, we've got to do your hair." Stitches said, grabbing the side of Mina's pale grey dress and pulling her onto a stool in the bathroom.

"Stitches, trust me, you look amazing. Blondie's not going to know what to do with himself." Mina said. Stitches tried and failed to stifle a snicker. Mina raised an eyebrow before she worked out what she'd said.

"Well, he's gonna do _that_, there's no question about it." Mina said. Stitches shook her head, rolled her eyes and smirked.

"You're a dirty, dirty girl." Stitches said. Mina smirked.

"I try." Mina said. Stitches sighed and pulled the curlers out of Mina's long, red hair. Her hair now sat, curled, at her shoulders.

"How's that?" Stitches asked after a few brushes with a comb. Mina smiled and stood up.

"Thanks, babe." Mina smiled. Mina was going to the dance with Joseph, something which was rare. Mina and Joseph didn't tend to spend too much time with each other when it came to Shibusen-related things. Having to live with your partner at sixteen was enough of a challenge for the relationship; a challenge which they had, so far, combated well.

"Right, you got everything?" Stitches asked Mina. Mina nodded and picked up her handbag.

"And you're sure I look alright?" Stitches asked.

"Totally tappable. Now, come on, let's go." Mina smirked. Stitches grabbed her handbag, pushed her glasses over the bridge of her nose and turned the light off in the bathroom. She and Stitches walked over the apartment and to the door. Stitches felt a buzzing sensation and stopped.

"What is it?" Mina asked. Stitches stuck her hand down the front of her top and pulled out her phone.

"Oh, now you're just showing off." Mina said. Stitches mouthed sarcastic laughter and opened her phone.

"Ah, Cleo's downstairs. We'd better move." Stitches said. Mina nodded and followed Stitches out the door, locking it. When they walked downstairs, they met up with their purple-haired chain resonance partner, Cleo, and made their way to the car that would take them to Shibusen.

* * *

When the three girls got to Shibusen, they were met by a sea of students. Luckily, it wasn't hard to pick out their three awkward looking dates in the crowd. Oliver, Cleo's meister and date, stepped forward first and gave Cleo her corsage. Black roses, it appeared, and a simple ribbon band. Cleo smiled widely and looked up at her meister.

"Thanks, Ollie." she said.

"What have I told you about calling me Ollie in front of other people?" Oliver asked.

"What have I told you about never listening to what you say?" Cleo asked back. Oliver rolled his eyes and acknowledged the other four before walking off, Cleo waving as they did so.

Joseph was the next to step forward, giving Mina her red corsage.

"Is it the hair?" Mina asked. Joseph nodded.

"It's the hair." Joseph replied. Mina sighed and shook her head.

"I love you." she said, kissing Joseph on the cheek after he put the corsage on. Mina interlinked her arm with Joseph's and they walked up the stairs. Then, Thomas stepped forward, a cuff with bronze ribbon loops on it.

"You picked a bad colour for flowers." Thomas explained. Stitches suppressed a blush and stuck her wrist out. Thomas slid the corsage over her hand and she smiled widely.

"I love it. Plus, you probably didn't have to keep it in the fridge like everyone else." Stitches said. Thomas nodded, and stuck his arm out, which Stitches took. As they made their way up the stairs, Stitches spoke up about halfway up.

"You know Papa's on door duty, right?" Stitches asked. Thomas froze where he stood. Stitches sighed.

"I will carry you over my shoulder up there if you don't move. He's not that bad, really!" Stitches said. Thomas turned to her, dark green eyes wide.

"Easy for you to say." he said, before taking a deep breath and taking Stitches' arm once more. It took every ounce of courage in Thomas' entire being not to shut his eyes as he got to the top of the stairs. As they went to walk in the doors, Stitches looked over at her father, who finally saw her and her date.

Stitches smiled widely and Stein returned her expression. Thomas quickly looked at Stein, and after seeing only an unassuming glance, he calmed slightly, though he made no more eye contact. Mina ran up behind then and laughed.

"Can't you just _feel_ The Doc judging you with his eyes?" Mina asked. Thomas grit his teeth and his spine straightened, and Stitches smacked Mina in the arm.

"Because he wasn't scared enough." Stitches hissed. Mina laughed and rested her head against Stitches' shoulder. Thomas still looked extraordinarily worried, so Mina sighed and walked ahead of the two of them and over to Stein.

"Hey, Doc?" Mina asked. Thomas looked over at the redhead and the scientist and his eyes widened when Mina came bounding back to them.

"What are you so happy about?" Stitches asked. Mina giggled and turned around, crossing her arms.

"I told The Doc you guys slept together." Mina said. The two of them stooped and nearly screamed.

"_What?!_" they both yelled. Mina smirked, shrugged and continued up the stairs. Without thinking, Thomas clenched his fists, shut his eyes and strode quickly over to Stein. Without opening his eyes except to make sure he was speaking to Stein, Thomas began to speak.

"Doctor, I don't know what Mina told you but I've not done anything to your daughter, I swear, I wouldn't do- not that – I –" Thomas stammered and Stein rose an eyebrow.

"What?" Stein asked. Thomas opened his eyes and he gasped.

"I… Mina said…" Thomas stammered. Stein raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"You listen to her?" Stein asked.

"Uh… I … Well, there's… I…" Thomas couldn't get a whole sentence out. Stein sighed and crossed his arms.

"Quit while you're behind, Cameron." Stein said. Thomas gave a small noise of fear and walked away from the scientist, back to Stitches who was in the ballroom.

"Did you have a good conversation with The Doc?" Mina asked. Thomas looked at Mina and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I'm… I'm beyond mortified. I…" Thomas looked down and Stitches pried his hand out of his pocket, gripping it tightly.

"It's okay. I'll talk to him. He knows Mina, you'll be fine." Stitches said. Thomas exhaled and Mina sighed, slinging her arm over his shoulder.

"Love you, baby brother." Mina kissed Thomas on the cheek, and he wiped the lipstick off with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah." he shook his head and rolled his eyes. Stitches smiled and looked up at Thomas.

"You okay?" Stitches asked. Thomas nodded and smirked.

"I'm gonna get Mina back, though. Mark my words." Thomas laughed.

* * *

As the night had gone on, Stitches and Thomas had lost Mina and Joseph. And, considering the fact that they were now of a legal age, they decided against going to search for them.

At about ten o'clock, Stitches couldn't take it anymore. Her heels were _killing_ her.

"Should we go?" Stitches asked. Thomas saw the pained expression on her face.

"If you want." Thomas said. Stitches sighed and, leaning on Thomas heavily, walked out the front doors of Shibusen. Marie was standing there, obviously having taken over Stein's previous position of door duty.

"Mama?" Stitches asked. Marie blinked quickly, adjusting her eyes.

"Stitches! How was your night, honey?" Marie asked. Stitches smiled.

"It was good. My feet hurt, though. Have you seen Mina or Joseph?" Stitches asked. Marie took a deep breath in.

"Well, yes. I'd watch out when you get in your apartment, put it that way." Marie said. Stitches sighed.

"Really?" Stitches asked.

"If there's a tie on the door, don't go in." Marie said. Stitches nodded.

"I trust you two aren't…" Marie trailed off. Stitches' eyes widened.

"_No!_ No, no, of course we're not. We've been going out for, like, two months!" Stitches said. Marie smiled. She trusted her daughter, and figured that Thomas' fear of Stein's wrath was contraception enough for the teens at this stage.

"Okay. I just had to ask, make sure you stay safe." Marie said. Stitches sighed, hiding her embarrassment.

"Alright, Mama, we're going to go home." Stitches said. Marie nodded and looked over at Thomas and smiled.

"Are you alright?" Marie asked.

"Yes, thank you, Marie-sensei." Thomas replied. Marie smiled and watched as her daughter and Thomas walked down the stairs.

* * *

Stitches and Thomas walked through the door to some highly unholy noises.

"Oh, no." Stitches said. Thomas' eyes widened.

"It sounds like they're killing a cat." Thomas said. Stitches sighed and walked over to the two bedrooms. Seeing as there was a pair of underwear on the boys' bedroom door handle, she figured that the tie rule applied.

"Alright, come on." Stitches said, taking Thomas' hand and leading him into hers and Mina's room, shutting the door.

"We'll have to sleep in here." Stitches said. Thomas removed his jacket and shoes, lying down on Stitches' bed. Stitches kicked off her shoes, took off her glasses and laid down next to Thomas, nestling into his side. Thomas reached down and pulled the blanket that laid at the end of Stitches' bed over both of them. He sighed and looked at Stitches.

"Did you have a good time?" Thomas asked. Stitches smiled.

"I had a great time." Stitches said.

"I'm glad, Stitches." Thomas replied.

"I wish they'd shut up." Stitches remarked. Thomas laughed in agreement.

"That poor cat." Thomas said.

"I don't think they're killing a cat, somehow." Stitches said.

"I don't like to imagine the alternative." Thomas said.

"Especially seeing that the alternative could be happening all up over your bed." Stitches said. Thomas froze. Stitches couldn't help but laugh.

"It's not funny! It's gross!" Thomas said.

"It's a bit funny." Stitches said.

"Yeah, well." Thomas grumbled.

"I think it's best we to sleep." Stitches said, kissing Thomas on the cheek. Thomas smiled, wrapping his arms firmly around Stitches and closing his own eyes in slumber.

**A/N: No cats were harmed in the writing of this chapter.**

**Factoid #8: As promised last chapter, this factoid is about Marie's pregnancy – more specifically, as one reviewer remembered (which I totally squealed about) it's peanut butter.**

**In chapter 14 of **_**Stitches**_**, Marie's pregnancy cravings lead her to peanut butter. Throughout the series, there have been several references to Stitches and her love of the food – such as in chapter 16 of **_**Stitched Together**_** where Stitches begins school and makes sure she has a peanut butter sandwich packed, and in the last chapter of this story.**


	18. A Son's Explanation

**A/N: This chapter is… I don't even know, what's happening in this chapter? *checks master document* … ooh, angst.**

* * *

Mina, Joseph and Thomas had learnt the lesson of _Do not wake Stitches up in the morning unless absolutely necessary_ pretty quickly. However, one morning, they were messing around a bit too loudly, and out shuffled what could be classed as the 16-year-old embodiment of homicidal thoughts.

"It's 8am and I'm awake. Someone better be dead or have cooked me bacon and a damn cup of tea." she said, sternly.

"Oh, no… Stitches… hi, sweetie." Mina said.

"Don't _hi, sweetie_ me. Why are you all up?" She asked, shuffling over to the couch.

"Sweetie, it's eight in the morning." Mina stated.

"Exactly." Stitches grumbled, scratching the back of her head. Mina sighed and got up, gently hugging the irritated hammer.

"I'm going to have a shower, then Joseph and I are going out. 'Kay?" Mina asked, gently. Stitches grumbled to herself before shuffling over to Thomas.

"Come here." Thomas held his arms out, and Stitches sat down, resting back against him. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You're not a morning person, are you?" Thomas asked.

"You're perceptive." Stitches snapped back. Thomas chuckled and kissed Stitches gently on the head.

"Love you too." he smiled.

* * *

After Mina and Joseph left, Stitches' irritation had worn off. Thomas' arms were still wrapped firmly around Stitches. They were watching some mind numbing documentary about penguins or gazelles or… something.

Thomas looked down at Stitches. It wasn't often that they got alone time at home.

"Stitches?" Thomas asked.

"Huh?" Stitches asked, looking up at the blonde haired boy.

"Uh, would I be able to talk to you?" Thomas asked. He'd decided that it was time to talk to Stitches about his parents. He didn't want to leave it too long. They'd been going out for nearly six months now, and he needed to tell her.

"Of course. What about?" Stitches asked, pulling herself to a sitting position next to Thomas.

"Uh… m-my parents. Well, my lack of them." Thomas said. Stitches looked at Thomas.

"Thomas, you don't have to." Stitches said. Thomas sniffed and shook his head.

"No. I do." Thomas said. Stitches sat up, crossing her legs, and listened intently.

"Well, and I mean, I'm only going off of what Ms Martha's told me, but I was left on her doorstep when I was about 3 months old. We think." Thomas said.

"And she took you in?" Stitches asked. Thomas smiled and nodded, before his face turned more solemn.

"My parents left me with a note s-saying 'This is a Demon Child. T-take him away. K-kill him, abandon him, w-we don't care.'" Thomas said, choking back emotion. Stitches' golden eyes widened and seemed to quiver.

"That's… That's horrible. Why did they…?" Stitches could not finish her sentence.

"We don't know. But Ms Martha took me in, and named me, gave me a birthday… she loves me." Thomas said. Stitches smiled slightly.

"That's good." Stitches said.

"And, I mean, I never want to find my parents. I just… I made that decision a long time ago." Thomas said.

"Well, it's understandable." Stitches sniffed. Thomas sighed and took Stitches hand.

"Are you crying?" Thomas asked. Stitches smiled and wiped her eyes.

"It's really sad, what happened to you." Stitches sniffed.

"I don't know. I've had sixteen odd years to get used to it, so…" Thomas said. Stitches smiled and shook her head.

"You… You're unassuming, but you're so damn strong." Stitches said, looking Thomas dead in the eyes. Thomas smiled and kissed Stitches on the forehead.

"Thank you. Just for listening." Thomas said. Stitches smiled.

"Anytime. I do like talking to you, you know. I didn't just like you for your pretty face." Stitches said. Thomas smiled.

"Oh, come on. I'm debonair." Thomas said, looking down at Stitches and raising his eyebrows suggestively. Stitches backed off the couch and took Thomas' hands, taking him to a standing position as well.

"Debonair is one word, yes." Stitches said. Thomas smirked.

"Gorgeously sexy. Amazingly perfect." Thomas said.

"Those words too, yes." Stitches smiled.

"Oh, me? No, I was describing you." Thomas smiled. Stitches narrowed her eyes.

"Shut up." she said, crossing her arms and turning around on the spot.

"Oh, come on," Thomas said, running to catch up alongside Stitches, "I could compliment you like a normal guy." Stitches sighed.

"I wish you would, sometimes." Stitches said. Thomas crossed his arms.

"Fine, then." Thomas remarked. Stitches looked up at him.

"Go on then." Stitches grinned.

"Nice rack." he remarked. Stitches smacked him in the arm.

"Thanks." Stitches said. Thomas smirked and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"You asked for it." Thomas said.

"Alright, alright, yes, I did." Stitches said. Thomas smiled widely and smacked Stitches playfully on the backside.

"Oh, are you right?" Stitches asked, returning the gesture. Thomas smiled and kissed Stitches on the cheek.

* * *

Later that day, Martha was over, and she was helping the teenagers make lunch. Ms Martha and Thomas were standing around, Thomas chopping up potatoes that Martha had peeled. Martha looked over at Stitches, who was making meatloaf with Mina. She smiled and looked at Thomas.

"She's very nice." Martha said. Thomas looked over at his girlfriend and nodded.

"She is." Thomas replied.

"She'll make someone a very nice daughter-in-law someday." Martha slipped the comment into the conversation.

"Ms Martha… Really?" Thomas asked. Martha simply laughed.

"Sorry, sorry. You'd hate the conversations I have with her mother." Martha said.

"Yes, probably, so please don't tell me. I have classes with her mother." Thomas said. After a while of silence, Thomas sighed.

"What _do_ you talk to her about?" Thomas asked.

"Oh, nothing much." Martha said. Thomas glared at her.

"We've named your first three children." Martha continued. Thomas sighed.

"You and Ms Mjolnir worry me, sometimes." Thomas replied.

"I thought it was her father who's supposed to worry you." Martha replied.

"Oh, he does a sufficient job of that, don't you worry." Thomas said, slightly nervously.

"He's not that bad, Doctor Stein." Martha remarked.

"Yes, but you're not dating his daughter. His sweet, little, only daughter." Thomas said.

"Okay," Martha conceded, "Fair point." Thomas smiled slightly and finished cutting up the last potato, putting it into a pot of water and placing it on the stove. Stitches walked over to him and Martha.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Stitches asked. Thomas put his arm around her shoulder and she smiled.

"We're all done over here, Shelley." Martha said. Martha was the only person that Stitches didn't mind calling her by her actual first name. Thomas tried it once - he got punched.

"Awesome. Lunch is going to be ready soon. Oh, and if you could stay for a little while afterward, Mama said she'd call in." Stitches smiled. She did like Martha. She was a little older than her own mother, and was quite wise, in her own way.

"That sounds good." Martha smiled.

"They've named three of our children. Children that they don't know will ever exist." Thomas said to Stitches. Stitches smiled and looked over at Martha, giving the same warm expression. She then asked to speak to Martha alone, a request which Martha obliged. They walked out onto the small balcony the apartment possessed and shut the doors which led to it.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Martha asked. Stitches sighed.

"Thomas told me, you know, about his parents." Stitches said. Martha's expression changed; not to anger, but to a mix of disdain for Thomas' parents but a pride that Thomas had the courage to tell somebody.

"Did he?" Martha asked.

"Yeah. And… I just wanted to say that I think you've done a wonderful job raising him." Stitches said, taking a deep breath. Martha smiled slightly.

"Thank you." Martha mouthed, wrapping her arms around the golden eyed girl. Stitches hugged the woman back, holding back tears.

"He likes you. A lot." Martha said.

"I do too, I just… I don't know, he's just… yeah." Stitches stammered. Martha smiled.

"Well, you'd better take care of him. He's pretty smitten with you." Martha crossed her arms across her chest and smiled widely. Stitches laughed.

"If he knew you described him as smitten, he'd probably lose it." Stitches replied.

"Oh, well, he was one of these children who threw tantrums, so I'm used to it." Martha replied. Stitches nodded.

"I used to throw tantrums. Ah, fond memories of my father having to drag me out from underneath my bed because I'd anchored myself there when I had to go to sleep." Stitches said. Martha smiled and pressed her hand to the side of Stitches' face.

"You're good for him, sweetheart." Martha said.

Stitches smiled and followed Martha inside. She sat herself down on the couch and waited for a while. After a few minutes, Martha stood up and began to serve the lunch, the teenagers all sitting around the table. It was a nice change from ramen, to be perfectly honest. Martha took one look at the teenagers, who were all laughing and, for the most part, self-sufficient. Only one thought travelled through her mind.

The kids were growing up.

**A/N: I love Martha. I want a Martha.**

**Factoid #9: Martha is Thomas' adoptive mother, and yet he doesn't call her 'Mama,' he calls her 'Ms Martha.'**

**While it isn't specified, Martha used to be a school teacher, and seeing as she had nobody else to take care of Thomas, she would often bring him with her in the class. During his formative years when he learnt to speak and walk, he was surrounded by people who called her 'Ms Martha,' and that's why it's what he calls her. It is also somewhat due to the fact that Thomas has a negative connotation with 'Mama' and 'Papa', due to his biological parents abandoning him.**


	19. The Little Insecurities

**A/N: I know it's been a while coming – but have some Justin. Some lovely, friendly, anime Justin. And some Giriko. Some lovely, foul-mouthed anime Giriko.**

"Are you guys alright?" Stitches' eyes flicked to Mina, Joseph and Thomas, who were all looking around the room incredulously.

"… You know… _all of them?" _Joseph asked. Stitches nodded.

"Yeah." she said, shrugging the comment off as if it was nothing. Swarming around the room were past and present Deathscythes and their families. Stitches had invited the three along with her to the latest Deathscythe function – she hadn't been to one since she started at Shibusen, and for once, they looked shyer than she did.

"Stitches Stein, I haven't seen you for years."

Stitches' eyes flicked up and met the blue eyes of the perpetually baby-faced Justin Law. She smiled widely and hugged the guillotine, much to the shock of her best friends behind her.

"How old are you now?" Justin asked.

"I'm sixteen, Justin." Stitches replied, and Justin's eyes widened.

"Well. As long as you're better since the last time I saw you. It was a pretty bad injury you had." Justin said, and Stitches nodded.

"I am, thanks. It's been over a year now." Stitches said. Justin shook his head and crossed his arms across his chest.

"I refuse to believe that." the man almost pouted, and Stitches laughed. Justin smiled soon after and looked at the three bewildered teens behind Stitches.

"So, are you going to introduce me to your friends?" Justin asked. Stitches nodded and went down the line.

"Mina West, my meister. Joseph Martin, a pistol and this one's weapon," Stitches pointed to Thomas, and his eyes hit hers and their thoughts syncopated, "and this is Thomas… a meister and… my…" Stitches stammered, and Justin's eyes widened.

"Your what?" Justin asked. Stitches' head whipped around, and at that instant, Marie walked up behind the two.

"Her boyfriend." she remarked. Stitches' eyes widened and a blush appeared on her cheeks.

"_Mama!" _Stitches exclaimed through gritted teeth.

"Don't be embarrassed," Justin tapped Stitches lightly on the arm, "it's okay." Stitches sighed and looked back at her mother.

"How have you been, Justin?" Marie hugged the man and he smiled, nodding.

"Good, good." he reassured her.

"And how's Giriko?" Marie asked, and Justin smiled even wider, clasping his hands together and nodding once more.

"He's not bad. He's around here somewhere." Justin sighed, and Marie smiled.

Her eyes flicked to her daughter's friends, and they all continued to look bewildered. Marie sighed and looked at Stitches, and she walked over to Mina, Joseph and Thomas and pulled them to a secluded corner.

"You look a little overwhelmed." Stitches said, quietly.

"Th-That's an understatement." Thomas stammered. Stitches sighed and looked over at Mina, who looked like she was about to burst.

"What is it?" Stitches asked. Mina tried to hold her words back, but it was as if they all fell out of her mouth.

"Justin Law's _gay?_" she said, perhaps slightly too loudly. Stitches crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Does it matter?" Stitches asked.

"No, but these are the sorts of things you tell your best friend!" Mina exclaimed. Stitches could tell that all three of them were nervous, so she sighed and stood up.

"You guys can come with me or you can sit here. I'm going to talk to Aunt Yumi." Stitches went to walk off, and soon she saw a tall, dark-haired boy in her peripheral vision.

"Hi, Joseph." Stitches remarked with a smirk.

"Hey." he replied, and Stitches crossed her arms and laughed, walking across the room.

"You have a girlfriend, Joseph. Do you really need to keep pursuing your crush on my _godmother?_" Stitches asked. Joseph sighed and tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah, a little." Joseph stopped as Stitches did, and Azusa turned around and gave a smile.

"Stitches, good to see you!" Azusa leant down and hugged Stitches.

"Hi." Joseph mumbled, his greeting going unheard.

"You haven't been to a Deathscythe function in a while, have you?" Azusa asked. Stitches shook her head.

"No, but I figured I'd come to this one, see everyone again. I brought Mina, Thomas and Joseph along, but they're all being timid." Stitches told Azusa. Azusa raised an eyebrow.

"Even Mina?" Azusa asked. Stitches shrugged.

"Well, Papa and Uncle Spirit aren't around to harass. They'll be back soon and I'm sure she'll perk up." Stitches replied. Azusa nodded knowingly before looking at Joseph, glancing him up and down.

"And who are you?" Azusa asked. Joseph's eyes lit up and he smiled.

"Joseph, Joseph Martin, weapon." he nodded profusely.

"…Okay. How are you finding the function?" Azusa asked.

"Oh, it's wonderful, thanks for asking." he beamed. Stitches and Azusa looked at one another, trying desperately not to giggle. Their attempts were futile, however, and they soon began to laugh, and Joseph looked well and truly deflated.

"Calm down, it's okay. I'll see you later, Aunt Yumi." Stitches smiled and led Joseph and his bruised ego away, and looked up to see Mina talking to Stein and Spirit.

"Oh, The Doc and Thomas get on like a house on fire!" Mina said, slapping her knee in mirth. Spirit smirked and saw as Joseph and Stitches returned.

"How be you, squirt?" Spirit rested his elbow on Stitches' head and she frowned, crossing her arms.

"I was better before you called me _squirt_, Uncle Spirit." she groaned. Spirit laughed and stood upright as two other Deathscythes, Soul and Tsubaki, entered the conversation.

"Hello, all." Tsubaki smiled and waved. Soul gave a nod and Thomas looked up, took a deep breath in and stood up, leaving the room swiftly. Stitches raised her eyebrows and followed Thomas into the corridor, where he was sitting against the wall.

"What's wrong, Thomas? Did I do something wrong?" she asked, sympathetically, sitting down alongside him.

"No, it's not your fault, I just… they're all so good at what they do, and I'm…" Thomas hyperventilated, and Stitches rubbed circles into his back and leant him forward.

"You're amazing. You know that, Thomas! You're a _great_ meister." Stitches said. Thomas looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. She looked back and stood up.

"Wait here." Stitches told Thomas, and he sat and waited until Stitches came back out, three people in tow. His eyes widened and he stood up as Spirit, Marie and Azusa looked back at him.

"St-Stitches, what are y-you…" Stitches held her hand up and looked at Spirit.

"Uncle Spirit, would you let Thomas wield you?" Stitches asked. Spirit nodded.

"Of course I would. You're an E.A.T kid for a _reason, _man." Spirit said, and Thomas swallowed dryly.

"Mama?" Stitches asked. Marie nodded insistently.

"I'd trust you. Doctor Stein's told me how well you do it classes, Thomas. You're an excellent meister." Marie smiled. Thomas crossed his arms.

"You're just saying that." Thomas frowned.

"I'd allow you to wield me if necessary."

Thomas' eyes widened and he looked at the woman who had spoken those words, and as Azusa continued, he listened intently.

"My weapon form means that I have to rely quite heavily on a meister. And from what I've heard, you're quite a versatile meister. I'd trust you." Azusa said. Thomas stepped back and leant against the wall and Stitches smiled.

"And you could have been my meister. Papa wouldn't let me." Stitches told the blonde.

"So if two generations of Mjolnir and two of Shinigami-sama's most powerful weapons don't give you the confidence you need, I'm not sure what will." Marie said, gently. Thomas sighed and smiled.

"I…Thanks." he said, timidly. Spirit walked over to him and threw his arm around his, rubbing his fist against the top of his head.

"So snap out of it, man." he warned. Thomas regained his footing and laughed, walking back into the function. Stitches ran up alongside him and linked her arm around his, glancing up at him.

"Are you feeling better now? Ego sufficiently inflated?" Stitches poked her tongue out, and Thomas smirked.

"I s'pose." he murmured.

"Yeah, well." Stitches smirked and walked around for a while until she found Marie. She smiled at her daughter and waited until she walked up alongside her.

"How's Thomas?" Marie asked. Stitches smiled.

"He's okay." she smiled. Justin, who Marie was talking to before Stitches came along, had another man standing with him.

"Giriko?" Stitches asked, slightly dubiously. The man's eyes flicked to hers and he smirked.

"Stein's kid, right?" Giriko asked. Stitches nodded.

"She's mine too, Giriko. She has a mother." Marie remarked. Giriko looked at Marie and smirked.

"Of course." he grinned, and Justin sighed.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Just having fun! Chill out." he remarked, resting his arm around Justin's shoulder.

"So, weapon mother and meister father. Which are you?" Giriko asked. Stitches looked at Marie, and Marie smiled.

With an instantaneous flash of light, Marie transformed her right arm and Stitches her left arm, their near-identical weapon form next to one another.

"It's good to see weapons around. You see all the meisters walking around thinking they're all that." Giriko rolled his eyes, and Stitches laughed.

"Didn't you have a meister?" Stitches asked. Giriko shrugged.

"Sorta. I had a golem – long story. But, no, now Justin and I are autonomous bedfellows, I s'pose." Giriko laughed at Justin's slight blush, and Stitches smiled widely.

"Well, I'd better get back to Thomas and the others. But it was good to see you." Stitches said.

"If I don't see you at the Deathscythe Christmas party, I'm not going to be happy." Justin remarked. Stitches laughed.

'Yep, right now, you and me," Giriko looked at the teenager, "we will belt out some mean Christmas carols. It's happening." Stitches laughed and nodded, waving at the two before walking off.

**A/N: Thomas, Thomas no, you are fabulous!**

**And Justin/Giriko – shippin' it.**

**Factoid #10: Marie and Stitches do some lovely mother-daughter weapon-y bonding in this chapter. Which is good.**

**Stein has always been worried that Stitches wouldn't relate to Marie like she did to him, due to the fact that she is very similar to Stein. There are some subtle references to Stein pointing out Stitches and Marie's similarities. Perhaps the most momentous attempt made by Stein regarding Stitches and Marie bonding was chapter 4 of **_**Stitched Together**_**, where it is revealed that Stein was only teaching Stitches to say one thing – Mama.**


	20. A Slight Resurgence

**A/N: This chapter is another two-parter. Sort of.**

"The first significant Kishin threat in several years." Soul said to himself, looking at the small elite group that Shinigami-sama had compiled. All of the Deathscythes, senior meisters, some of the senior weapons and the cream of the crop of the E.A.T class had been called to lead the Shibusen forces. Taking a plane into the secluded area where the Kishin device was harboured was their only choice of transport.

Mina, Stitches, Thomas, Joseph, Cleo and Oliver had been chosen, due to their skills and their ability to chain resonate. They travelled along with Deathscythes of E.A.T classes gone, Soul and Tsubaki, who were using their original meisters, Maka and Black*Star, as well as Stein, Marie, Sid, Naigus, Azusa, Spirit and a few other senior meisters and weapons.

"It's going to be tough. The threat comes from four angles, and it is going to take all the force we can muster. First off, on the North flank, we've got dense forces. Sid, Mira and Azusa, can you control those?" Shinigami-sama asked through the mirror at the front of the plane.

"Of course, Shinigami-sama." Azusa replied.

"Alright. Soul, Maka, Tsubaki, Black*Star, the South side is rife with high-paced assassin types. Can you handle them?" Shinigami-sama asked.

"Yes, sir!" Black*Star exclaimed.

"The West side is going to be tough, filled with few opponents, but those that are there are hard-hitting. Stein, Marie, Spirit, you can control this side." Shinigami-sama said.

"Yes." Stein replied.

"And finally, the East side covers the entrance to our objective; some sort of Kishin madness broadcasting device. Mina, Stitches, Thomas, Joseph, Cleo, Oliver, you need to clear this area so that Sid and Mira can go in and collect the device." Shinigami-sama finished.

"Sounds like a plan." Mina said. Shinigami-sama signed off and the mirror went blank. Stein stood from his seat and walked down the central aisle to Stitches.

"Have you taken your anti-madness suppressant?" Stein asked. Stitches nodded, her eyes fearful. Stein knelt down to face her.

"You're going to do fine. Just concentrate on using your wavelength and your tactics. You can do that." Stein said. Stitches nodded.

"I just don't want to mess up. This sounds serious." Stitches said.

"It is. But, that's why we've got in the best." Stein said. Stitches nodded.

"And we've brought Spirit along too." Stein added. Stitches sighed.

"Leave him alone, Papa." Stitches said. Stein sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I'm proud of you. You'll do fine." Stein said, placing his hand on Stitches' shoulder before standing up and walking back to his seat. Stitches closed her eyes. Even though she'd taken her suppressant, she still felt something; she felt the Kishin near. Meanwhile, Joseph was in full fanboy mode.

"We get to work with Yumi-freakin'-Azusa! I've met her, you know." Joseph exclaimed, smacking Thomas in the arm in his fit. Just then, the person in the seat in front turned around to face Joseph.

"Yes, hello. You look vaguely familiar – but can we get something straight. Yumi-freakin'-Azusa is sitting right in front of you. So, if you wish to say anything to Yumi-freakin'-Azusa, I suggest you say it to Yumi-freakin'-Azusa's face." Azusa said. Joseph squeaked and no words came out.

"He's a big fan." Thomas said. Azusa rolled her eyes.

"We met the other month. Can you keep him under control, Thomas?" Azusa asked, before looking over at Joseph.

"Reach for the stars, do your best, yada yada, all that jazz. Just don't stuff up." Azusa said before turning around. Joseph, who was well and truly starstruck, flopped back in his seat.

"How does she know your name?" Joseph asked.

"I'm dating the girl who's essentially her niece. I try to get in good with people she's close to." Thomas said. Joseph sat back in his seat and closed his eyes.

"Alright, everyone, let's do this!" Soul yelled.

* * *

Mina, Stitches, Thomas, Joseph, Cleo and Oliver had all made their way to the East side, before the entrance to the Kishin's hideaway. Stitches, Joseph and Cleo were all in weapon form already.

"Alright, guys, keep on the watch." Mina said.

"Once we've got most of the enemies out of the way, Oliver will let off a flare. That'll let any of the other teams that are finished know that they can come to the gate." Thomas said.

"Got it." Oliver said. Before anyone else could speak up, Stitches yelled out.

"Enemy, eight o'clock!" Stitches yelled. Mina turned around, Stitches pressed tight to her forearm, and smacked the enemy right in the face. One hit left his soul hovering in the air.

"Wow, that was easy." Mina said.

"Don't speak too soon!" Thomas exclaimed, pointing behind Mina. A wave of enemies rushed towards the teens.

"Right, Thomas, back and shoot with Joseph! Mina, you and I clear the way for Oliver!" Stitches exclaimed, Mina following her tactics implicitly. Stitches was an excellent tactician.

Mina screamed as she charged through the enemies, knocking down a good seven or eight as she smacked them away with Stitches. Oliver then came through, deftly and dextrously swinging around his classic scythe, Cleo.

"Thomas, behind Oliver!" Stitches yelled. Thomas held Joseph in front of him and shot twice, killing the enemy that was sneaking up on Oliver.

"Duck, Mina!" Thomas yelled. Mina did so as a fist came swiping over her head.

"What is _wrong_ with you guys?!" Mina yelled at the enemy. She continued swiping at them, but it was only doing minute damage.

"I'm gonna try something." Mina said, holding Stitches straight out in front of her, rather reminiscent of a golf club or a croquet mallet. Stitches didn't know what was going on.

"Take _this!"_ Mina exclaimed, spinning on the spot that she was standing, thwacking near on twenty enemies with Stitches in her five rotations. She culled the wave of enemies in seconds.

"There." Mina said, taking a deep breath and falling backwards.

"No, not there!" Thomas yelled, watching as another wave arrived.

"Resonance!" Mina yelled, as she got into position on her feet once more.

"_Soul's Resonance." _Mina and Stitches said, achieving their own resonance easily. The three pairs made their individual resonances and, when the time was right, all of the souls collided to create the chain resonance.

"_Ready?_" Oliver asked.

"_No! If we push this resonance, we can get them all!_" Mina exclaimed. The six all pushed the resonance to the absolute maximum before each harnessing the power.

With the traditional Witch Hunt Slash, Cleo and Oliver cleared up a good quarter of the enemies.

Using their Titanium Cannon, Thomas and Joseph cleared away another quarter.

But Mina and Stitches harnessed something nobody had ever seen before. The strength of the resonance had combined to create a stronger ability than ever before. Stitches turned into a massive mallet.

It was nothing like the young meisters and weapons had ever seen before.

Mina brought Stitches down in front of her, sending wavelength shockwaves through the entire clearing, defeating every single enemy.

Mina dropped Stitches and she took human form once more.

"Stitches…" Mina trailed off, hugging the girl who was crouched on the ground. Mina looked Stitches in the eyes. Her pupils had shrunk to a very small size, and seemed to be quivering. She then began to laugh uproariously.

"Oh, no." Mina said.

"What is it? Is it the ability?" Cleo asked, running over to the silver haired girl.

"Her anti-madness suppressant isn't working. That ability rendered it useless or something. We've resonated while she was on suppressants before near madness and she's been fine. Has Oliver set off the flare?" Mina asked, only able to watch as Stitches sprung to her feet. Cleo nodded.

"I _really_ want to cut something up." Stitches said, her eyes darting around the clearing.

"Okay, honey, that's Daddy talking. You gotta come back." Mina said. Stitches grinned widely.

"I want to see your insides." Stitches said, a sadistic grin plastered over her face, manic laughter following.

"No, you don't, sweetie. Come on." Mina said, running over to Stitches. Stitches simply began to run in the opposite direction. Mina sighed and turned to Thomas.

"You're going to make me shoot my girlfriend, aren't you?" Thomas asked. Mina nodded.

"Only with an incapacitating wavelength. Do you really want her tearing apart all the creatures in this forest?" Mina asked. Thomas sighed and Joseph took his form. Mina whistled loudly and Stitches turned around.

"Stitches, I… I think I've got a cut on my leg," Mina looked down at her leg, "Oh, yeah. Oh, Death, I can see the bone..." Mina looked up and saw Stitches walking back to them, obviously intrigued.

With one quick shot, Stitches was on the ground. Thomas dropped Joseph and turned away.

"I just shot my girlfriend." Thomas said, looking down. Mina went to collect Stitches and glanced up at the sky.

"Where the _hell _is the Doc?"

* * *

"What ability did she use?" Stein asked Mina, taking off his labcoat and giving it to Marie, who draped it over Stitches.

"I don't know, but she turned into a super-massive hammer. Like, six foot across." Mina said.

"Okay. Well, out number one priority is getting her conscious and aware again. Marie-sensei's wavelength should do that, but we'll see." Naigus walked over to Stein with a water bottle and two shinigami-skull shaped pills.

"I feel fine, Mira." Stein remarked.

"Yes, but I don't want you chopping anyone up when we've got five students who just saw one of their friends go full-on crazy." Naigus murmured. Stein nodded and took the pills before walking back over to Stitches, sitting next to her.

"Did the wavelength work?" Stein asked. Marie nodded.

"I think so. She's coming to." Marie said, rubbing Stitches on the arm. Stitches' golden eyes blinked open and she looked up. It wasn't everyday that you woke up surrounded by three Deathscythes and more senior meisters than you could poke a stick at.

"Oh, no," Stitches said, "I did it again, didn't I?" Stein nodded.

"It's not your fault. You did your duty before you started threatening people, though." Stein said. Stitches sighed and tried to sit up.

"Oh, my head." Stitches said. Marie nodded.

"It's gonna be like that. Take the pills Aunt Mira's gonna give you, okay?" Marie asked. Stitches nodded and took the suppressants once more.

"Did she and Sid get the device?" Stitches asked.

"Yes, but they had to destroy it. The technology's known to Shibusen, and if not destroyed, it has the power to turn people like you and your father into blubbering, incoherent blobs." Marie said. Stitches sighed.

"I'm sorry I made a scene." Stitches said.

"You're a Stein, it's one of the few things you can get away with." Stein said to his daughter, Stitches smirked and sat herself up, taking another drink of water.

"Where's Thomas?" Stitches asked, looking around.

"Oh, he walked off into the forest after he shot you." Mina replied. Stitches raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Stitches asked. Mina sighed.

"Well, right after you said you'd like to see my insides, I tried to chase you. You ran off, so I made Thomas shoot you with Joseph's incapacitating wavelength." Mina said.

"He _shot_ her?" Stein asked. Mina nodded, Stein shot a discerning glance at Marie.

"He shot her." Stein said, blankly.

"For her own good, Stein." Marie huffed. Stein crossed his arms.

"Papa, can you go and find Thomas? Please?" Stitches blinked her wide, golden eyes at her father. His resolve crumbled.

"You're manipulative." Stein said, walking off.

"And you love me for it." Stitches called. Stitches saw Stein give a small nod before chuckling to himself.

"You've got your father wrapped around your little finger, don't you, Stitches?" Naigus asked, handing Stitches another anti-madness suppressant. Stitches swallowed the pills and shrugged.

"I s'pose." she replied. Naigus smiled and rested her hand on Stitches' shoulder.

"I'm impressed." she replied.

**A/N: Well… That was eventful.**

**Factoid #11: In this chapter, Joseph and Azusa encounter each other once more.**

**While it may seem that Azusa isn't fond of Joseph, in some ways they are quite similar. They are both weapons, and they are both enthusiastic and determined in their positions, albeit in different ways. Joseph was written with Azusa in mind, and Mina was written with Spirit in mind. So, there's a little shout to one of the pairings which I adore and yet started shipping too late to actually create.**


	21. Birds and Bees

**A/N: Warning: Mina's being very Mina in this chapter.**

**I deided to post this so soon because I just got 150 reviews! Thanyou all - especially that lovely Guest who told me that they hated my story because it was slightly KiMa. Thank you so much for helping me get to 150 reviews! I'll be sure to throw in some extra KiMa for you, seeing as you love it so much x**

**(To all of you who don't review telling me they hate my story, you're lovely. It just really bothers me when people give mindless insults like that. I don't eexpect everything to be potivite - constructive criticism is great - but that was unneccessary. I love all of you cool guys.)**

The morning after the Kishin equipment had been recovered and destroyed, Stitches woke up in the laboratory. After the madness stint, Marie had insisted on watching over Stitches for a night.

Stitches shuffled out into the living room where Marie was already awake.

"Morning, Mama." Stitches yawned. Marie turned around from where she was making coffee and smiled.

"Good morning, baby. How are you feeling?" Marie asked.

"Ah, I'm not too bad. You?" Stitches asked, sitting down on the purple couch and tucking her feet under her.

"I'm alright. Your father hasn't pulled up too well, though." Marie sighed.

"That's because he's old." Stitches said. Marie glanced at her daughter.

"We're older, yes, but we're not old." Marie said.

"You're a bit old." Stitches smirked. Marie sighed.

"Thanks, honey." Marie smirked, before walking into hers and Stein's bedroom with the cup of coffee. Eventually, Stein and Marie emerged.

"Morning, Papa." Stitches said.

"Morning." Stein replied, cracking his back in a cringe-worthy fashion and cranking his screw backwards until it clicked.

"Are you okay?" Stitches asked, turning to her father.

"I'll live. What about you?" Stein asked.

"I'm fine. Not too bad, considering." Stitches said. Stein nodded as Marie took a seat on the chair across from Stitches.

"Well, the threat didn't resurface overnight, which is a good thing. Shinigami-sama would have contacted us if it had." Marie said. Stein nodded.

"We're safe for a while, but we're cutting it close. We nearly lost a lot of experienced fighters in there." Stein said. Stitches pulled her knees close to her chest.

"We're going to be fine though… right?" Stitches asked, her voice laced with fear. Marie widened her eyes and walked over to Stitches, putting her arm around her daughter's shoulder.

"Of course we are." Marie said, quietly.

"Shinigami-sama will keep it under control. We survived through Asura's reawakening, we'll be fine." Stein said.

"Okay." Stitches said, shakily. Stein sighed and knelt down in front of Stitches. Stitches sighed.

"What are you doing?" Stitches asked.

"Doctor stuff." Stein said, tilting Stitches' head up and examining something. He let her head down and looked into her eyes.

"You don't feel anything?" Stein asked. Stitches shook her head.

"I think we've got it all under control, personally." Stein said, standing up and sitting on the couch next to Stitches. He placed his arm around her and held her close to his chest, exhaling.

"What are you doing now?" Stitches asked.

"Dad stuff." Stein said, sighing and wrapping his other arm around his daughter.

"You scared the living daylights out of me." Stein said. Stitches sighed.

"I did what I had to, Papa." Stitches said.

"Doesn't mean I'm not going to worry… It's one of the few things I'm capable of." Stein said. Stitches nodded.

"I'm okay, Papa. I promise." Stitches replied.

* * *

"Are you okay, Stitches?" Joseph asked Stitches, who was laying on the couch. It was nearly ten at night.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm… I'm fine." Stitches said.

"No, you're not, Stitches, what is it?" Mina asked. Thomas looked over at the others and walked over to them. The four teens all sat up.

"I was talking to my parents about the reawakening of Asura, the demon god, back a while ago." Stitches said.

"Your parents… weren't they involved with that?" Joseph asked. Stitches nodded.

"And I just… with the battle we fought, we went to… seeing how close some people came to defeat _there_, it just got me thinking… how many people did Shibusen lose during Asura's reawakening?" Stitches asked.

"I don't know. I'm not sure." Thomas said.

"Most of my family, the people I love, were involved with it. What if they'd… what if they hadn't made it?" Stitches asked.

"Hey, don't talk like that. They did make it." Mina said.

"I know, I just… We could lose anyone. Classmates, teachers, friends, family… I need to help protect them." Stitches said.

"Well, you will. When you make Deathscythe, you can protect everyone." Mina said. Stitches sighed.

"I suppose." Stitches said.

"Asura… I don't remember anything, I a couple of months old when it ended. My sister remembers a little bit." Joseph said. Joseph rarely mentioned his sister. All they knew was she was a few years older than him and her name was Clarissa. Mina sighed.

"I don't know much. My parents weren't involved with Shibusen much anymore when it happened. Plus, I was born at the end of the debacle." Mina said.

"I wasn't born till a few months afterwards." Thomas said.

"Me… I was born about nine months after –_ oh, Death_." Stitches said. When she said that, Mina giggled raucously.

"Ooh, defeat of the Demon God, romantic." Mina laughed, unable to hold in the laughter.

"Shut up." Stitches said, punching Mina in the arm.

"You love me." Mina said.

"I've had enough of your emotional scarring today, thanks." Stitches said. Mina smirked and stood up, patting Stitches on the head.

"Come on, what could _possibly_ be scarring about talking about your own conception?" Mina asked.

"Uh, let me think, oh, right, _everything_." Stitches said. Mina giggled.

"I really can't see what's wrong with the mental image of your parents, all hot, naked and sweaty…" Mina said.

"Oh, go to hell! That's disgusting!" Stitches exclaimed, standing up and chasing after Mina.

"Come on, it's perfectly natural!" Mina exclaimed, still ducking and weaving around the dinner table, away from Stitches.

"No, it's not!" Stitches called.

"You know, they're probably _still_ doing it, now that you're not in the house." Mina replied. Stitches squeezed her eyes shut and growled.

"Shut up!" Stitches exclaimed loudly.

"Come on, the Doc got Mama Mjolnir pregnant on the first go. He's gotta be good." Mina's wicked smile grew further, so much so that she looked like a Cheshire cat.

"I don't want to hear another word!" Stitches exclaimed. Mina jumped over the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Oh, come on, if you go up to the lab early in the morning, half the time you get the Doc with a stupid smile on his face. It's an _I just got laid_ smile, Stitches!" Mina giggled.

"_Mina! _Why would you say that?!" Stitches yelled, diving for Mina, fist outstretched. Mina caught her punch and smirked.

"You remember I'm your meister, right?" Mina asked.

"I'll kill you, one day." Stitches said. Mina smirked. The two then broke out into spontaneous laughter.

"I freakin' love you." Mina said, hugging Stitches.

"I love you when you're not being disgusting." Stitches said.

"So, not much of the time." Mina said. Stitches smirked and sat back down on the couch, flopping against Thomas. Thomas looked down at Stitches and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"_Come on. Let's leave them alone. Baby brother's got something to tell her._" Mina leant over and whispered in Joseph's ear. He nodded and gave a tiny smile, walking into Mina's bedroom after her. Stitches looked up and sighed, leaning back against the blonde.

"I'm crashing in your room tonight." Stitches sighed, wrapping her arms around Thomas' waist. Thomas smirked and pulled Stitches gently around so she was sitting on his lap. She raised an eyebrow but did not complain.

"Mmhm." Thomas murmured, closing his eyes gently.

"What are you so happy about?" Stitches asked, softly. Thomas smiled, saying nothing for a while before breaking the silence.

"Nothing. You." Thomas grasped Stitches' hand and she laughed.

"You're such a softie." Stitches replied, raising an eyebrow. Thomas clicked his tongue and looked up at Stitches, dubiously.

"You are _so_ your father's daughter, aren't you?" Thomas remarked. Stitches frowned.

"Did you miss Mina's whole conception rigmarole a few minutes ago?" she asked. Thomas smiled and kissed Stitches on the forehead.

"I'm going to go to bed, alright?" Stitches asked. Thomas stumbled ove his words, setting off alarm bells in Stitches' head.

"What is it?" Stitches asked. Thomas turned away.

"Nothing." he said, adamantly. Stitches crossed her arms and Thomas desperately tried to hide behind the blonde hair hanging over his face. Stitches smirked and ran at Thomas, jumping on the couch beside his and pinning him down.

"Tell me." she said, sharply.

"Let me sit up." he said, and she smiled and pulled him back to a sitting position with ease.

"Forgot how strong you were." he straightened his shirt and he took a deep breath.

Thomas was not one to mess about. He was a very definite person who, despite his shy exterior, knew what he wanted, and he knew that this was what he wanted. This was something that, if not reciprocated, would let him know that he needed to disengage. He swallowed dryly.

"Come on. I don't bite." she smiled, pushing her short, silver hair behind her ears. Thomas took a deep breath in and he took Stitches' hands. She raised an eyebrow.

"Are you dying? Please don't' tell me you're dying." she fretted. Thomas shook his head, but as he went to open his mouth again, Stitches began again.

"Okay. You owe someone money? You're moving away? You're-"

"Stitches. No." he couldn't help but smile at her fretful nature, and he tightened his grip on her hands.

"I…" he swallowed dryly, "Stitches, I … I love you."

Thomas blinked. Stitches blinked.

"Stitches?" Thomas asked, his eyes tinged with worry. Stitches smiled and she leant forward, pressing her lips against Thomas' gently.

Considering the stories she'd heard about her father's issues with the fateful four letter word, with the feelings bubbling up inside of her, Stitches proved conclusively that day that she took after her mother when it came to feelings.

"I love you too." she whispered.

**A/N: Yay :)**

**Just to say, there's been a bit of a time-skip with the mission they went on, etc. Stitches and Thomas have been dating for just under a year at this point.**

**Factoid #12: Mina talks, rather candidly, about Stitches' conception in the chapter.**

**Stitches' birthday allows a basic timeline for the happenings in the story. For example, she was born in February, and at almost full term. As Mina stated, she was conceived after the defeat of the Demon God, meaning that the Demon God was defeated in May.**

**The more you know.**


	22. The First Time

**A/N: Once again, a quick update. But I needed to say thank you to you all, supporting me in my quest to quash mindless review pairing hate. You're all gorgeous :)**

**This chapter has some sexual references, very much a-la-Chapter 1 of **_**Stitches**_**. Not quite as far, but still.  
Oh, and, if your favourite aspect of Stitches' or Thomas' character is their innocence… then I recommend you don't read this chapter.**

Stitches and Mina were the typical example of 'opposites attract.' Stitches was shy and unassuming, Mina was outgoing and brash.

Seeing as all of the students who went on the previous mission had come back in one piece, and it coincided nicely with Stitches' seventeenth birthday, Mina decided to throw a party at the apartment.

"Come on, Stitches, stop sitting around!" Mina exclaimed. Stitches sighed and stood up with Mina, rolling up the sleeves of her sweatshirt.

"Oh, come on." Mina said, her words barely audible through the noise of the party, which contained all of the E.A.T class and a few friends from other classes. Stitches gasped and nearly screamed when Mina pulled off her sweatshirt to reveal the tight tank top underneath.

"What are you doing?!" Stitches exclaimed as Mina held the sweatshirt aloft, too high for Stitches to reach.

"What if I didn't have anything on underneath that, idiot?!" Stitches asked. Mina giggled and sighed.

"Well, then I'd probably turn gay." Mina smirked. Stitches shook her head and gave a tiny laugh. Mina was good at putting Stitches at ease, even if it did involve some odd techniques.

"Now, come on. It's a party. Calm down!" Mina exclaimed. Stitches crossed her arms and pouted at Mina. Mina took Stitches' glasses off and giggled.

"Come on. You saved our asses on that mission, no matter how insane it made you. Now have fun." Mina said, walking away from the silver haired, grey tank-top clad weapon. Stitches sighed and turned around. As she did, she noticed that in her state of dress, many of the guys in the room were looking at her.

"What are you gawking at?" she asked. The boys laughed and she crossed her arms. That was a bad move.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." she spat. So they took out their phones and began to take pictures.

"How about you just all back off?" a voice called from across the room. Stitches' head whipped around to see Thomas, his arms crossed.

"I don't like to be the possessive type. But can you not see that she's uncomfortable?" Thomas asked, walking towards them. He was tall, a good deal taller than most of the guys.

"She told us to take pictures, stupid." one boy sneered. Thomas looked over at him and shrugged.

"Yeah, you, you aren't too bright, are you? Buy a dictionary, look up 'sarcasm' and get back to me." Thomas snapped. The boy had a quizzical look on his face.

"Do you need me to spell it for you?" Thomas asked The boy simply snorted and walked off. Thomas let his arms drop to his sides and he turned to Stitches.

"Oh, Death, sorry. That sounded so possessive, and you're not my possession, you're my-" Thomas stopped when Stitches hugged him tightly.

"It was hot. _Really_ hot." she muttered. Thomas gave a little, breathy laugh and cracked a smirk.

"Yeah?" he asked, not able to ignore the fact that Stitches' current state of dress meant that, when she was pressed against him, he could feel the beautiful curve of her body.

"Yes. But, if anyone asks, I'm all into this feminism stuff and I don't _need_ a man to stand up for me." Stitches laughed. Thomas nodded and smirked.

"Of course. Wouldn't want anyone to know that you like good old fashioned chivalry." Thomas grinned, walking behind Stitches and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Never." she giggled.

* * *

As the party atmosphere changed from general dancing and hubbub to various intimate situations around the apartment, Stitches and Thomas suddenly found themselves incredibly into the party scene.

Neither of them had touched any alcohol, though some of the N.O.T guys had brought some. They knew exactly what they were doing when they slammed against the wall of Stitches and Mina's room, Thomas pinning one of Stitches' hands above her head as he kissed her deeply.

"What are we doing?" Stitches murmured along with a short, sharp gasp as Thomas kissed her neck.

"I thought we were… you know." Thomas whispered against Stitches' neck. Stitches giggled and looked up at him.

"I haven't the faintest idea. You'll have to tell me what you're thinking." Stitches bit her lip.

Thomas accepted the challenge written in her eyes and leant down to her ear and whispered in it darkly. An electric current ran up Stitches' spine at the quite inappropriate words and she gave a little nervous giggle. Thomas stepped back and pressed his hand to the side of Stitches' face.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." he said, seriously. Stitches giggled and nodded.

"No. I want to be with you. It's okay." Stitches murmured. Thomas and Stitches had been going out for over a year now – and they were both legal. Thomas gave a small sigh of relief and Stitches blinked up at him. He leant over to the door and shut it, turning the small lock on the handle.

"Uh…" Stitches said, wringing her hands gently.

"What's wrong?" Thomas asked, quietly.

"I thought they only had to do this in movies." Stitches whispered to herself, suddenly feeling incredibly embarrassed. Thomas sensed this and lifted her head.

"If you're talking about a condom, I've got one. I'm not completely useless." Thomas remarked. Stitches, herself, gave a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank goodness you've got… one of those." Stitches giggled.

"Really? You can't say condom?" Thomas asked. Stitches screwed up her face.

"It's… icky." Stitches said.

"We're about to have sex, and you think that's icky?" Thomas asked. Stitches sighed and wrapped her arms around Thomas' waist.

"Shut up and kiss me." she murmured, and he obliged, kissing her as he held her face in his hands. His lips went to her ear, and he whispered.

"Say it." he laughed. Stitches growled and grabbed the front of his shirt, dragging him backwards to her bed.

"Stop it." she warned before they fell onto the mattress.

* * *

Intermittent heavy breaths filled the room as the party continued outside. The door was closed and Stitches and Thomas were fully enveloped in what they were doing.

"Have you ever done this before?" Thomas asked in barely a whisper, his body framed over Stitches'.

"Never." she whispered back.

"Good," he grinned, "because neither have I, and I don't particularly want you to know if I'm terrible." Thomas finished. Stitches giggled and kissed him once more, but stopped as his hands roamed over her scar. She gave a tiny gasp and Thomas blinked at her, pressing his hand to the side of her face.

"I don't care, babe." Thomas murmured gently.

"Thank you." Stitches replied.

* * *

"Is that everyone gone?" Mina asked Joseph.

"Yeah, I think so, I'll just check the bedrooms." Joseph said. Mina nodded as she continued to clean up. After a minute, Mina heard Joseph.

"Babe, this door is locked." Joseph called. Mina sighed and pulled a hairpin out of her red mane, jamming it into the small mechanism next to the handle. After a bit of pushing and turning, a small click was heard.

"There." Mina sighed, walking away. Joseph nodded and opened the door.

"Holy crap!" Joseph called. Mina strode over to him again and looked into the room he was looking into.

"What is i… Holy crap!" she exclaimed.

Thomas and Stitches were asleep, bare in each other's arms. Mina looked at Joseph and he looked back at her.

"Finally." Mina dropped her hands to her hips and smirked. Joseph chuckled and wrapped his arm around Mina's waist.

"Oh, God, Stein's gonna _kill_ him." Joseph said.

"Yeah, should probably say goodbye to baby brother, I suppose." With that comment, a devious grin covered her features. She walked into the room and knelt down next to the bed.

"Mina, what are you doing?" Joseph asked. Mina picked up a pad of notepaper, scrawled a note down on it and ripped it off. She fished through one of her drawers on the other side of the room and took out a wax strip, using it to stick the note to Thomas' chest.

"Mina!" Joseph exclaimed. She jumped to her feet and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

"What?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"You used a wax strip to stick that note to Thomas' chest." Joseph stated.

"Yeah, so?" she asked with a grin.

"The boy is proud of all three of his chest hairs. You're devious." Joseph said, sternly. Mina crossed her arms and pouted.

"I couldn't find any sticky tape." she replied. Joseph shook his head, chuckled and kissed Mina gently.

"He's gonna be grumpy in the morning." Joseph said.

"Please," Mina said, "he just got laid. I think he'll be _fine_ in the morning."

* * *

Stitches was the first to awake the morning after, and she spent a good ten minutes pondering the note on her boyfriend's chest before he awoke. He mumbled for a second before his eyes opened and a smile followed.

"Good morning." he yawned.

"Morning." Stitches smiled, rubbing her eyes. As Thomas adjusted, he felt something on his chest.

"What the-" Thomas looked down. Stitches' eyes widened when she realised what was holding the note on, not to mention what the note said.

"Take a deep breath." Stitches warned.

"Wha- _Mother of Death!_"

"Sorry." Stitches mumbled, Thomas rubbing the rapidly reddening strip on his chest.

"What on Earth is that?" Thomas asked. Stitches put her glasses on and sighed as she read it.

"_Congrats on the sex, don't worry, it shouldn't be that awkward or terrible again._" Stitches read. Thomas groaned and flopped backwards.

"Mina?" Thomas asked. Stitches nodded and rested against him once more.

"Mina." she replied.

At that moment, she seemed to remember she didn't have any clothes on. She pulled the sheets around her tightly and turned over. Thomas propped himself up on one arm and looked down at Stitches.

"Was it really that bad?" Thomas asked. Stitches shook her head and turned back to him.

"It wasn't bad. And it was our first go. We've got time to perfect it." Stitches gave a small smirk.

"You always know what to say." Thomas nuzzled into Stitches' neck, pressing his body against hers. She felt something hard pressing against her lower back, which caused her to gasp.

"Is that-?" Stitches began. Thomas pulled out a hairbrush and held it in front of Stitches' face.

"No." Thomas reassured her. Stitches gave a tiny smirk and jerked her hips backwards.

"No, it's still there…" she giggled.

"Oh, shut up. It is not." Thomas kissed Stitches on the cheek. Stitches laughed and sat up.

"Turn around. I gotta get dressed." Stitches said.

"I've seen it all before." Thomas quipped. Stitches groaned and threw a pillow at Thomas, and by the time he'd taken it away from his face, Stitches was hidden.

"I love you." Thomas called.

"I love you too, but I still need to get dressed." Stitches said. Thomas laughed and laid back.

"Okay, okay." he smiled.

**A/N: OOOOOOOOOOOOOH. They did unspeakable things .  
Thomas is so going to die. And, Death, I love Mina.**

**Factoid #13: Those darned kids, always with the sex.**

**But, this chapter connects back with chapter 26 of **_**Stitched Together,**_** where Thomas and Stitches first meet. When Thomas tells Stitches that it's okay if she doesn't want to partner with him, she says "No. I wasn't to be partners with you. It's okay." And then, now, some five and a half years later, Thomas tells Stitches it's okay if she doesn't want to go through with it, to which she replies, ****"No. I want to be with you. It's okay."**

**CONTINUITY WITH SWEETSHEART. **

**That's literally all I'm consistent with. Fluff and sex.**

**((Author's Note author's note - Stitches and Thomas are both of legal age. Just saying.))**


	23. Revelations and Threats

**A/N: Okay, so it isn't relevant to this chapter specifically, but in this story, the Shibusen year ends in December. I live in Australia and so we have our summer holidays over Christmas, and I felt it would be easier to write what I know. I'd get too confused otherwise.**

**Anyway, I really liked writing Stein in this chapter. Enjoy :)**

"Come on, what was it like?!" Mina bounced on her knees. Stitches curled up and hid her face from Mina.

"Come on, Stitches! I'm your best friend, this is what we're supposed to talk about!" Mina exclaimed.

"You've done it before, why do you care?" Stitches asked. Mina sat down once more and clasped her hands together.

"Because! I want to know what it was like for _you two_." Mina said.

"You're terrible." Stitches sat back.

"Who was on top?" Mina asked.

"_Mina!_" Stitches threw a pillow at the redhead, who laughed.

"Oh, come on, Stitches, just tell me!" Mina said, and as she did, she blocked out the sound of the door opening and Stein and Marie walking in.

"We had sex! Okay, yes, it was the first time and it was important, but it's – what?" Stitches noticed Mina's eyes widening and her head shaking madly.

"Oh, no." Stitches froze.

"… Hello?" Marie said, her voice small, her hand grabbing onto Stein's wrist.

"Care to _repeat_ that, Shelley?" Stein asked, fury bubbling in his voice. Stitches swallowed – her father _never_ called her Shelley. He would have been angrier, perhaps, if she was the person his anger was aimed at. But she wasn't.

Marie may have been able to hold Stein back if it weren't for the fact that the blonde boy truly evoking his anger walked into the room at exactly the wrong moment.

"What'd I miss?" he asked. Marie gasped and watched as Stein walked past her, grabbing Thomas by the collar of his shirt and dragging him out into the hallway.

"_What are you doing?!_" Thomas exclaimed.

"You don't get to talk anymore." Stein snapped, slamming the door shut behind himself and Thomas. Marie stood there, not removing her eyes from her daughter.

"Mama… He's going to kill my boyfriend." Stitches shook. Marie walked over to Marie and gently held her.

"We need to have a chat." Marie said. Stitches looked up at Marie before looking over at Mina.

"You're on your own." Mina replied.

* * *

Stein simply stared down the blonde boy for a minute, standing there in deafening silence. He eventually spoke.

"I know what you did to my daughter." Stein said. Thomas wrung his hands and tried to make eye contact with the doctor, but broke it soon after.

"C-Could you not make it s-sound like I killed her?" Thomas asked. Stein crossed his arms and sighed.

"What you did is a serious commitment. You know that, don't you?"

"I understand, Doctor." Thomas said.

"Do you love my daughter?" Stein asked. Thomas swallowed deliberately. He didn't really want to be having this conversation with someone he had to see nearly every day at Shibusen.

"Yes, I do." Thomas said. Though he was nervous, when he said it, he _meant_it.

"From what I can discern, the feelings are reciprocated." Stein said. Thomas nodded.

"That was my impression." Thomas said. Stein clenched his fists. He could have beaten the kid up. He could have probably killed him. But he thought about all the things Marie had said in the past about staying calm.

"…If you _ever _hurt her, I _will_ hurt you." Stein said.

"I would never hurt her." Thomas said, insistently.

"And I mean in any _way, shape _or _form. _You so much as give her a splinter and you're _gone." _Stein warned.

"Y-Yes, sir." Thomas nodded.

"And if you _think, _for even a _second_, that you can take advantage of her or cheat on her, I will _castrate_ you. And don't think for a _second _that I'm exaggerating." Stein asked.

"Y-Yes, I d-don't, sir." Thomas nodded, trying desperately not to whimper, and suddenly felt rather protective of his nether regions.

"I still think you're _far_ too young." Stein crossed his arms.

"S-Stitches informed me that you forbid her f-from having a boyfriend until she was th-thirty-two, sir." Thomas stuttered.

"I did. And I thought I'd made that clear. But, she seems to have taken a shine to you. So, even though she's blatantly ignored my rule, I'll let you live. For now." Stein said. Thomas nodded.

"Thanks?" Thomas asked.

"That's the correct response. You're learning." Stein unexpectedly stuck his hand out for Thomas to shake. Thomas, though he nearly jumped out of his skin at first, took Stein's offer and shook his hand. He then released the grip and walked back into the apartment, a relieved look on Stitches' face that matched his.

"You're alive." Stitches smiled.

"I don't know how." Thomas said, sitting down next to Stitches. Stein walked back in and Marie whispered something in his ear. Stein spoke back quietly and Marie nodded.

"Alright," Marie took Stein's hand and led him to the couch, "now, we're going to speak frankly about this."

"Oh, Mama, really?" Stitches asked. Marie nodded.

"Yes. Now, you listen to me. No matter how many precautions you take, there's always a chance you could get pregnant." Marie started. Stein began to stand up.

"Yeah, I'm going to wait outsi-"

"_Stein,_ sit down." Marie tugged him back down onto the couch.

"Right. Now, I'm not saying that you can't have sex. That's obviously not going to work." Marie said. Stitches squeezed her eyes shut and Thomas suddenly felt that the ceiling was incredibly interesting and that he should watch it intently.

"I just want you to know that _we_," Marie looked directly at Stein as she spoke, "would support you in the event of an accidental pregnancy. Not that we're advocating it _at all_. But, I don't know what I would have done had I not had the support I did when I was pregnant with you, Stitches." Marie said. Stitches nodded and sighed.

"Thank you, Mama." Stitches said. Marie nodded and kissed her daughter on the cheek. Stitches raised an eyebrow and leant over to Marie.

"_How'd you stop him from hurting Thomas?" _Stitches knew better than to presume that Stein had just happened to reign in his _little_ anger management problem when it came to the blonde meister.

"Well…" Marie murmured.

"_You're going to leave him alone, aren't you?" Marie asked, gathering up the last of her things, getting ready to leave for Stitches' apartment._

"_Can't promise anything." Stein replied. Marie shook her head and walked over to Stein, raising an eyebrow._

"_Stein…" Marie growled. Stein looked up at her and sighed._

"_Fine. I won't hurt him… without reason." Stein stated. Marie scoffed and her fist transformed into a large hammer, hovering it in front of Stein's face._

"_What was that?" Marie asked. Stein cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow._

"_If you do anything, that's spousal abuse." Stein clarified._

"_We're not married." Marie retorted._

"_There must be some common law coming into effect here, right?" Stein asked._

"_Nevertheless, who are they going to believe? The over six-foot tall man with a bolt in his head and a giant scar on his face, or the poor little five-foot tall blonde woman with the big, caramel eyes and the ability to cry on cue?" Marie asked. Stein grasped the large weapon that was in his face and moved it out of the way._

"_I'll be nice." Stein replied, slightly sheepishly. Marie's hand transformed back and she smiled sweetly, kissing Stein on the forehead._

"_Good boy." Marie smiled. Stein crossed his arms and stood up, shaking his head._

"_Do you think everyone knows you wear the pants here?" Stein alternated between pointing to himself and the blonde._

"_Oh, Stein," she smiled, "I'm sure of it."_

"I don't know," Marie said, "you must have just caught him on a good day." Stitches raised an eyebrow but shrugged, conceding her mother's statement.

* * *

After a few hours, Stein and Marie left. Stitches flopped down onto the couch, crossing her legs.

"My father must be ill." Stitches said, shaking her head. Thomas rested back, his arm wrapping around Stitches' shoulder, and gave a sigh of relief.

"Holy crap." Thomas said, breathing heavily. Mina smirked at the blonde and sighed.

"Well, you finally faced the Doc. Congratulations for getting to the same level I was at when I was five." Mina said. Thomas glared at Mina.

"You didn't sleep with his daughter." Thomas said. Mina bit her lip.

"Yeah, about that…" Mina said. Stitches laughed and looked down at Thomas.

"I've got to dump you, Thomas, I'm sorry." Stitches joked. Thomas sighed and shook his head.

"You two are terrible." Thomas smirked.

"We try." Mina and Stitches said, in sync.

"H-Hilarious, guys." Thomas said, interlinking his fingers with Stitches'.

"You're still stammering, Thomas. He's gone." Stitches said. Thomas looked down.

"Sh-Shut up." he replied. Mina sighed and flopped back on the couch, giggling.

"So, how's about that? You knock her up, you've got full support from Marie and the Doc." Mina giggled. Thomas glared at her.

"Yeah, somehow I don't think Doctor Stein had much say in that one." Thomas groaned.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Mina asked. Thomas sat up, blonde hair falling over intense, emerald green eyes.

"Well, I could be dissected, for one. Or, he could just kill me, right off the bat. Or-"

"Baby brother, if Shelley Yumi Stein tells the Doc not to kill you, or maim you, whatever, then he won't. Because this thing here," Mina pointed to Stitches, "is Doctor Franken Stein's kryptonite."

"Kryptonite, daughter, there's a fine line." Stitches crossed her arms.

"It's ironic, really, isn't it?" Thomas asked.

"What?" Stitches asked.

"Well, you are the only thing that's going to protect me from your father. But, if I wasn't with you, I wouldn't need protection from him." Thomas said.

"Well, I hope I'm worth it." Stitches gave a small smile.

"Pretty sure he's only in it for the boobs." Mina said. Stitches growled at the redhead.

"I'm not in it for the boobs. I'm in it because Stitches is a gorgeous, intelligent, amazing person." Thomas smiled. Stitches blushed and kissed Thomas gently on the cheek.

"Oh, Death, please stop with this disgusting cuteness." Mina begged.

"No." Stitches said, wrapping her arms around the blonde.

"Never." Thomas replied, kissing Stitches' temple.

**A/N: He's ali-i-i-ve! **

**And, Sweet Death, that Thomas/Stein banter was fun to write. Is that bad?**

**Factoid #14: Stein goes all protective father in this chapter, in case you didn't notice.**

**If you read carefully, you can notice that all of the things that Stein outlines for Thomas not to do are the things that Spirit would have done to Kami. I wanted to give a nod that, even though Stein may not always be able to work out his own emotions or emotions directed at him, he's acutely aware of them if he observes them between other people. He knows how much that Spirit cheating hurt Kami- thus he makes sure it won't happen to his daughter. **


	24. The Battle's Imminence

**A/N: Heya, heya, heya! We're nearing the end of another story, ain't it sad?**

"Jezebel the Jaguar Witch?" Mina asked.

"Sounds like a bad anime character, if you ask me." Stitches said. Shinigami-sama looked at the two girls.

"You've collected your ninety-ninth soul, girls. It's only the start of your final year, and, though I'd hate to jinx it, I'll mention the_ D-_word…" Shinigami-sama trailed off. Mina's face was plastered in thought.

"Seriously?" Stitches asked. Mina's face was still blank.

"Deathscythe, idiot." Stitches said. Mina smiled.

"Oh, yeah." Mina smiled. Stitches sighed.

"Anyway. Jaguar Witch." Stitches said, turning back to Shinigami-sama.

"Yes. As I said, I don't want to jinx you, but I'm confident that Jezebel will come close enough to Death City for you to make Deathscythe in the middle of the year." Shinigami-sama explained. Stitches' eyes widened.

"B-But Shinigami-sama! That's so close!" Stitches exclaimed, taking a deep breath.

"I understand, but it's a golden opportunity, Stitches." Shinigami-sama said.

"So… we just wait?" Stitches asked.

"Yes. But, I have to warn you about the battle." Shinigami-sama said. Mina looked up at Shinigami-sama intently, Stitches doing the same.

"I've seen many meisters and weapons lost in battles with witches. Meisters are especially susceptible – a weapon must protect them fiercely. And, even if you defeat the witch, your pairing may not be the same." Shinigami-sama said. Stitches gasped slightly, looking at Mina and shaking her head.

"I don't want to lose you, Mina." Stitches said, grabbing Mina's hand. Shinigami-sama spoke up.

"I will say that particularly strong pairings, like the one you two have made, rarely fall." Shinigami-sama said. Stitches sighed with relief.

"Your final soul _must_ be a witch's soul, you understand this, correct?" Shinigami-sama asked.

"Yes, sir." Stitches said.

"Good. Well, I'll keep in contact with you regarding Jezebel's position." Shinigami-sama said.

"Thank you, Shinigami-sama." Stitches and Mina said, bowing to the shinigami before leaving to walk down the corridor from his office.

"Are you alright, Stitches?" Mina asked Stitches. Stitches sighed.

"I just… I'm scared." Stitches said. Mina placed her arm around Stitches' shoulder.

"We're going to be fine." Mina said. Stitches sighed slightly.

"I'm just… I mean, I want to be a Deathscythe, but the battle… it seems so difficult, and… I don't know." Stitches said. Mina sighed and glanced at Stitches, and as they continued down the corridor Thomas and Joseph exited a classroom.

"There you are." Joseph sighed and walked towards the two, and Thomas followed quickly.

"How'd it go?" Thomas asked. Stitches looked up at him, her eyes wide, and he knew. Joseph raised an eyebrow at Mina, and she shook her head.

"What happened?" Joseph's eyes flicked to Stitches, and she sighed, looking up at Mina and then Thomas. Her eyes darted to Joseph again and he reached out and grabbed her wrist, taking her into the corridor away from the meisters.

"What happened?" Joseph asked.

"I got the whole _your meister needs a good weapon to protect them in the witch battle_ talk." Stitches managed, glancing at the floor. Joseph sighed and grasped Stitches' shoulders.

"You gotta stop this. You're an amazing weapon, you _know _that." Joseph remarked. Stitches looked up at him and raised her eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look. You know it doesn't freak me out in the least – I think it's kind of adorable and makes you look like you're three." Joseph grinned, and Stitches punched him in the arm.

"Shut up." she remarked. Joseph looked at Stitches and slung his arm around her shoulder.

"Come on. Beck to the meisters." he remarked, walking back into the corridor. Mina grasped Stitches' hand as she came out of the corridor and looked at her, a grin on her face.

"What are you doing?" Stitches asked.

"I know how we're going to make you feel better." Mina said, and Joseph glanced at her.

"What?" Stitches asked.

"We're all going up to the lab to see Mama Mjolnir." she remarked. At that comment, Thomas staggered slightly, but Joseph gave the taller teenager a sharp shove to keep him moving.

"Move it, boy." he smirked.

* * *

"Shinigami-sama spoke to us today about our witch's soul." Mina said, sitting on the couch with Stitches and Marie, Marie's hand lying on Stitches' wrist. Stein sat next to Marie on his desk chair, with Thomas and Joseph barely squeezing onto the purple chair. Marie nodded and turned to her daughter.

"Baby, it's hard. It's going to be hard, but you've got to think about it this way. Mina wants to go for it. It's up to you." Marie said.

"Wow, that really doesn't make me feel better at all." Stitches sighed. Marie let out a small breath and held Stitches' hand.

"Do you want to know something?" Marie asked.

"Go on." Stitches said.

"I was exactly like you when I was coming up on collecting my witch's soul." Marie said. Stitches laughed cynically.

"No way." Stitches said. Stein nodded.

"She freaked out." Stein said. Marie turned to Stein, a scowl on her face.

"I did not _freak out_. I was… okay, I freaked out." Marie turned back to Stitches. Stein smirked slightly before going back to listening.

"But, when we defeated that witch and Shinigami-sama bestowed the title and ability on me… I mean, there's no way to describe it. It's just like… It's a surge of power, and you _know_… you know that you're a Deathscythe." Marie said. Stitches sat back, pushing her glasses over the bridge of her nose.

"Wow." she said. Marie nodded.

"Do you want to become a Deathscythe? Because you don't have to become one." Marie said.

"No, I… I do." Stitches said. Marie nodded.

"It's overwhelming at first; the witch battle. But you'll get it. It takes a lot of stamina, perseverance and skill, but that's been developed over your years at Shibusen." Marie said. Mina smiled.

"See? We'll be fine." Mina said. Stitches looked up at Mina, tears nearly forming in her eyes. Joseph realised what she was worried about before anyone – but Stein soon followed.

"…But that's not what you're worried about." Stein said, quietly. Marie raised an eyebrow before looking at her daughter, realising the main issue. Thomas realised at the same time and his eyes widened.

"Oh, baby…" Marie said, wrapping her arms around the now crying girl. Mina's eyes widened and she turned to Stein.

"What… What did I miss?" Mina asked. Stein sighed.

"It isn't weapons who tend to get killed in witch battles, put it that way." Stein said. Mina's eyes widened and her mouth fell open slightly.

"She doesn't want me to get… Oh, Stitches." Mina said, her hands flying up to her mouth. Stitches pulled her glasses off and wiped her eyes, Mina walking over to sit next to her. Stitches grabbed Mina's hands and sniffed.

"I just… I don't want to lose you. And if you die during the battle, then that's going to be on my conscience forever. I don't want to… I don't want to kill my best friend." Stitches said, her voice reducing to a whisper at the end of the sentence. Mina closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to Stitches'.

"You won't. Because we're going to find this witch, we're going to kill her, you're going to be a Deathscythe and we'll both come out alive on the other side." Mina said, authoritatively. Stitches smiled slightly at that statement.

"Okay?" Mina asked.

"Okay." Stitches replied. Mina hugged the younger girl tightly and Stitches rested her head on Mina's shoulder. When they pulled away, Marie turned to Mina.

"Thank you." she mouthed. Mina smiled and watched as Stitches stood up, tapping her cheeks with her palms twice to stop herself from crying. Stein shut his eyes, shook his head and sighed.

"You are your mother, I swear." Stein said. Stitches turned to Stein and rolled her eyes.

"Are you alright, baby?" Marie asked. Stitches nodded.

"I really want to stop talking about this, though." Stitches said. Marie nodded, as did everyone else in the room.

"Uh… Oh! Junior came into the classroom the other day, with Maka." Stitches said. Marie smiled.

"He was in the staff room, as well. I swear, it's like somebody's shrunk his father." Marie said. Stitches smiled and nodded.

"That kid walks around like he owns the place." Joseph remarked.

"Well, to be fair, if not for Shinigami-sama and Kid, he _would_ own the place." Stein said. Stitches turned to her father and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have to be smart?" Stitches asked. Stein raised an eyebrow as his daughter had before.

"You used to walk around there like you owned the place." Stein said.

"And you were only two." Marie said. Stitches turned a slight shade of red as Mina laughed.

"You shut up. They loved me, there." Stitches said to Mina. Mina grinned slightly.

"I'm sure they did." Mina said.

"I'm certain that the students who didn't have to do work because your mother and I were too busy trying to catch you while you ran up and down the stairs in the classroom loved you." Stein said. Stitches smirked.

"Aw, cute." Joseph grinned and Stitches reached behind her and threw a pillow at him. He laughed and caught the pillow, laughing at the silver-haired weapon.

"You got anything to say on that matter, Tom?" Joseph asked. Thomas' eyes flicked to Stein momentarily before staring straight ahead, shaking his head wildly.

"But, anyway. You eventually got back to where you were at, what, two?" Mina remarked. Stitches sighed and shrugged.

"I suppose. I tried to stay out of situations, though." Stitches murmured.

"Your last name got you into situations, though." Mina said. Her eyes flicked up and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Also got me _out_ of a lot of situations." Stitches grinned.

"Making light of madness. Wonderful." Stein said.

"In case you forgot, I'm just as susceptible to madness as you are." Stitches said.

"I've not forgotten, no." Stein said.

"Oh, I don't think any of us have forgotten that episode. Watching Sid carry you out of the school because you were screaming that you wanted to tear something apart." Joseph remarked.

"That was a good day." Mina said. Joseph nodded.

"It was indeed." Joseph grinned. Stitches crossed her arms and huffed.

"Thanks, guys." she grimaced.

**A/N: And **_**that's**_** the end of **_**that**_** chapter.  
:D**

**Factoid #15: Witches and weapons and meisters? Oh my!**

**This also incorporates my headcanon slightly – that is, Stein was the meister who turned Marie into a Deathscythe. Marie's original meister was Kami, and then when Kami paired with Spirit, Marie paired with Stein.**


	25. Eighteen Years Young

**A/N: Alright, a nice little break from anything serious, here :)**

The knock on the door startled Thomas, the only person in the apartment who was awake, but he stood up and opened the door nevertheless. He opened the door to Albert, and he glanced up and gave a small smile.

"I'm afraid she's not awake yet. Nobody's awake yet." Thomas remarked. He stepped back and let Albert in the apartment, and he sighed.

"I'd go in and wake her up myself, but last time I did that I got an eyeful thanks to that weapon of yours." Albert remarked. Thomas grimaced and nodded.

"I'll brave it. Please, sit." he said, turning away and walking down the corridor. He opened the door of Mina and Stitches' room and closed his eyes.

"Mina, your dad is here." he called. Mina stirred, Stitches didn't move at all, but Joseph gave a small cry and fell out of the bed and onto the ground with a loud thump. Thomas sighed and shut the door again, walking back out to Albert.

"Where are you off to today?" Albert asked, noticing the bags packed on the floor by the door.

"We're going to head out to the beach. Mina's request." Thomas remarked. Albert nodded as a redheaded girl with a sleepy smile walked out of the room.

"Good morning, Dad." Mina smiled, walking over to her bearded father and hugging him tightly.

"Happy birthday, love." Albert hugged her tightly back, and she stood up and yawned. She walked over and sat beside Thomas, who glanced at her with a smile.

"Happy birthday." he said, and she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks." she laughed, and he rolled his eyes as she tightened her grip on him.

"You're going to suffocate the poor boy, Mina." Albert remarked. Mina turned her head and poked her tongue out at her father.

"I'm an adult now, Dad. I don't have to listen to you." she waggled her finger at Albert and he smiled and laughed.

"You make me feel old." Albert remarked, and Mina shrugged. At that moment, quick footsteps could be heard as Joseph ran to the bathroom.

"Good morning Mr West!" he cried, and as Albert turned his head he got a quick and altogether unwanted view of Joseph's backside.

"Death, does that boy own clothes?" Albert asked at the instant Stitches walked out of the bedroom.

"You don't get to complain until you've seen him participate in No-Pants Friday." she remarked, and Albert glanced at her with a sympathetic smile.

"You're looking cheerful this morning, Stitches." he said. Stitches shrugged and leant against the wall.

"Better than most mornings. Happy birthday, Mina." Stitches smiled at her best friend, and she got a small salute in return.

"Thank you, my dear." she smiled, and Stitches watched at Joseph raced out into the living room, thankfully clothed, with a grin on his face.

"Morning, everyone!" he beamed, and not a single eyebrow was left unraised.

"Mr West, you could come to the beach with us." he remarked.

"As much as I'd love to spend a day with your delightful self, Internal Affairs has just been inundated with paperwork. That deadline's ridiculous – that's why I'm here so early." Albert said.

"You work under Kid, don't you?" Stitches asked. Albert nodded.

"I'd better tell Maka to tell him off. Making a man do paperwork on his only daughter's birthday." Stitches shook her head. Albert laughed and crossed his arms.

"Ah, the boy runs a tight ship, but he's not bad as bosses go. It's hard to be faceless when you're Shinigami-sama's son." Albert said. Stitches nodded.

"Still. I'll get Maka onto him." Stitches smiled, and Albert smiled back.

"I might have to hold you to that, Stitches." he said.

* * *

"Come on! Take it off!" Mina exclaimed from about twenty feet away from Stitches. It had taken them over an hour to drive out to the beach, seeing as Death City was about as non-coastal as you can get.

"Go to hell, Mina." Stitches said, laying back on the towel she'd placed next to Thomas' and Mina's on the beach. It was late spring – not too hot, not too cold, but the self-conscious Stitches was wearing a jumper over her bikini and shorts nevertheless.

"Come on!" Mina exclaimed, Stitches sat up and crossed her arms.

"No." she said, definitively. Thomas sighed and leant over to his girlfriend.

"Come on. You look great." Thomas said. Stitches sighed.

"You have to say that. We're sleeping together." Stitches said. Thomas shrugged slightly.

"Exactly. So I know what you're gonna look like better than anyone." Thomas said. Stitches slapped the blonde boy across the side of the head.

"Shut up." Stitches said, crossing her arms. Thomas rested his hand on Stitches' shoulder.

"You aren't even going to be able to see the scar." Thomas said.

"You will. It goes around the back a little." she murmured.

"Nobody's going to look at it. They won't care." Thomas insisted. Stitches blinked and sighed, standing up. Thomas smirked as Stitches took off her shorts, bending over slightly to take them off the bottom of her legs.

"Nice view from down here." Thomas remarked. Stitches turned around and scowled at her boyfriend.

"If I come in, you can't laugh." Stitches said, crossing her arms. Mina sighed.

"Sweetie, we've bathed together." Mina said.

"We were six!" Stitches exclaimed.

"We're not gonna laugh." Mina sighed. Stitches took a deep breath and took off her jumper, revealing the polka-dotted one piece, the one Mina had made her wear. Mina wolf whistled, causing Stitches to growl.

"Shut up." Stitches said, walking down the beach and standing in the waves, acutely aware of the swimsuit's open back which showed some of her faded scar. Thomas followed after Stitches, watching as a large wave hit Stitches' legs.

"Ooh, oh, no, cold!" Stitches said, jumping out of the water and back onto the sand. Thomas sighed.

"You're such a girl." Thomas said.

"I possess ovaries and the necessary double-X chromosome balance to be a girl, yes. What the _hell_ does that have to do with the fact that the water's freezing?" Stitches asked. Thomas sighed and walked over to Stitches, wrapping his arm firmly around her waist.

"Come on." Thomas said, Mina standing in front of them with Joseph swimming and frolicking around her feet.

"You know, I can swim quite well, actually. It's just cold!" Stitches huffed.

"You've got an unfair advantage." Mina said. After several noises of discontent getting herself into the water, she eventually settled and looked over at Mina.

"What's t-that?" she said, shivering slightly, still not used to the cold.

"You've got built in floaties." Mina said. Stitches sighed and splashed Mina.

"I didn't when I learnt to swim, thanks very much." Stitches sighed. Just then, Stitches felt herself fall over in the water.

"Stitches!" Mina exclaimed. Stitches popped up above the water once more, a dirty scowl on her face.

"Joseph, you're so going to get it!" Stitches yelled, jumping on the black-haired boy. He yelped as Stitches tackled him to the sea floor, the salty water covering them completely. Eventually, they both had to come up for air. Stitches gasped, standing up and taking deep breaths in.

"I hate you." Stitches smirked at her weapon friend. Joseph smirked and slung his arm around Stitches, kissing her swiftly on the cheek.

"Love you lots, Stitches." he laughed.

"You're an ass." she retorted.

"And you still love me. It's remarkable." Joseph glanced at Stitches, and she glanced over at him.

"You're an idiot." she smirked.

"Ah, and you're a genius. And us weapons have got to stick together. We fit." he remarked, and Stitches laughed.

"Oh, please tell me you're not having one of your sappy _Let's bond because we're both weapons_ moments." Mina put her hands on her hips and Joseph smirked.

"You've got Tom. Have a _let's bond because we're both meisters_ moments." he called. She glanced at Thomas and a wicked smirk crossed her face as she raced towards the blonde, flinging herself at him. He noticed with only a second to react, but his reflexes were not fast enough and they went crashing into the sea.

They bobbed up a moment later, Thomas still looking bewildered and Mina in the throes of laughter. Joseph and Stitches just looked at one another.

"_Meisters._" they sighed.

* * *

The four teenagers were all lying around on their towels, having gotten out of the water some time ago. Mina sighed and sat up, the setting sun shining off of her red hair. Joseph walked up behind her and leant down, grasping her shoulders and kissing her on the cheek.

"What are you doing?" Joseph asked.

"Feeling old." Mina glanced up at him, and he sighed, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"You're not old, Mina." Joseph navigated his tall frame around Mina to sit on the sand, and he sighed.

"I know. It's just… eighteen. It's like yesterday I was a kid… and now I'm not." she sighed and rested her head on Joseph's shoulder.

"You're still you, babe. Plus, I'm older than you. You can't complain." he grinned.

"You're a regular cradle-snatcher." Mina remarked. Joseph wrapped his arms around Mina and sprawled across her lap.

"I do try." he grinned up at her, and she smiled and shook her head. She brought her knees up so that Joseph was sat up, and she dropped her head to kiss him. She pulled back and a smirk was plastered on Joseph's face.

"You're gorgeous." he grinned. Mina shook her head and dropped her knees quickly, Joseph's head smacking down quickly.

"Oh, last compliment I ever give you." Joseph frowned, and Mina sighed.

"You know I love you." she shoved him in the arm, and he laughed.

"I love you too. You know it, Mina." Joseph grinned up at her, and she knelt forward, her hair flicking over her shoulder as she glanced at Thomas and Stitches.

"Come on," she stood up and brushed off her legs, "we'd better get ready to go." Joseph stood up and walked alongside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, kissing her temple.

"I really want to tip water over the two of them." he murmured. Mina grinned up at him as she replied.

"You took the words out of my mouth."

**A/N: I really love Mina and Joseph. Cuties.**

**Okay, so this factoid's more about me than the story… but whatever.**

**Factoid #16: Did you notice Thomas was missing something for this entire chapter?**

**Thomas' stutter used to be something painfully prevalent for him. The reason that he and Stitches had stutters is that someone you know stammers like a son of a witch. Yours truly. I've stuttered for as long as I can remember. I don't do it all the time, but when it starts, it starts, let me tell you. But Billy Bibbit stuttered too (Google him if you don't know who he is, if you do, we're best friends now) and he was gorgeous.**

**Anyway. I'm off track. But, yes. Thomas' stammer has disappeared for the most part – though you may notice he still stammers around a certain silver-haired, bespectacled doctor…**


	26. Fighting The Past

**A/N: Here we go, illustrating Ri-chan's mediocrity at fight scenes once more. This is this story's long chapter.**

"Stitches and Mina?" Naigus called from the front of the gym. The two girls turned to Naigus and walked over to the front of their girls-only PE class. You can imagine their shock when Naigus, their straight-talking, no-nonsense PE teacher, hugged then both.

"Uh, Aunt Mira, can I ask… why are you hugging us?" Stitches asked. Naigus looked at her after composing herself.

"You've been summoned by Shinigami-sama. You're to be deployed in a half-hour." Naigus said. Stitches and Mina looked at one another.

"What?!" Stitches called.

"You've got to go. Good luck, girls. We'll all be cheering for you." Naigus said. The girls nodded and walked out of the gym.

"Holy crap." Stitches said, grabbing Mina's hand.

"Come on, let's run." Mina said, running off in front of Stitches to Shinigami-sama's office.

"We just had PE, for goodness sake!" Stitches asked, walking quickly after Mina. They eventually got to Shinigami-sama's office door, and once walking down the corridor, were met by an office full of people. Shinigami-sama was there, of course, along with Stein, Marie, Albert, Thomas, Joseph and Soul, as he was Shinigami-sama's current weapon.

"Stitches, Mina." Shinigami-sama said. Stitches and Mina nodded and stood up straight.

"We've been able to locate Jezebel's exact position. You're going to be deployed to said position very soon." Shinigami-sama said. Mina and Stitches nodded.

"You understand the risks. So, if you'd like to spend some time with those that we've gathered here, we'll wait for further movement." Shinigami-sama said. Stitches and Mina nodded, hugging each other before going to their respective sides. Mina walked over to Albert and Joseph, Stitches to Stein, Marie and Thomas.

"I'm going to be fine, Dad." Mina said. Albert nodded.

"I know. Your mother would… she'd be so proud." Albert said, holding back tears and memories of his late wife. Mina nodded, tears falling from her own eyes as she hugged her father tightly. She then turned to Joseph, taking his hands.

"You're going to do great, babe." Joseph said. Mina smiled widely and hugged Joseph.

"I love you." she whispered. Meanwhile, Stitches was over with her nearest and dearest. It was obvious Marie had been crying.

"Mama…" Stitches said, hugging Marie tightly. Marie hugged back and looked at her daughter.

"You are going to be _amazing_." Marie said. Stitches then turned to Stein and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Stein cradled the back of her head and took a sharp breath in, resting his hands on Stitches' shoulders.

"This is it." Stein said. Stitches nodded and Stein smirked slightly.

"If you're as similar to your mother in battle as you are everyday, then you're going to be just fine." Stein said.

"Thank you, Papa." Stitches said.

"You'd better stay safe. Your mother won't sleep until you get back." Stein said. Stitches smiled and took Stein's hand.

"I love you. I do. Eighteen years ago, I couldn't even comprehend it. But I do. And you are going to be just fine." Stein said. Stitches smiled widely.

"I love you too, Papa." she whispered, hugging Stein tightly before walking over to Thomas. Thomas took her hand and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Please don't die." he whispered. Stitches laughed nervously.

"I'll try not to." Stitches said.

"I love you." Thomas said.

"I love you too." Stitches replied, kissing Thomas on the lips quickly before assembling before Shinigami-sama with Mina once more.

"Are you ready?" Shinigami-sama asked. Stitches and Mina nodded.

"Soul-kun will take you out to the front of Shibusen. He will give you directions to Jezebel, but can go no further. I wish you good luck. Stitches, I hope that I can add you to my arsenal upon your return. Good luck!" Shinigami-sama said. Stitches and Mina nodded and followed Soul out of the office. Marie turned to Shinigami-sama, tearfully.

"Please, tell me honestly, Shinigami-sama," Marie said, "how do you think they'll do?" Shinigami-sama chuckled slightly.

"Honestly," Shinigami-sama chuckled, "I think I'll have a new Deathscythe in a few hours."

* * *

"Are we close?" Stitches asked. Mina nodded.

"It's… I can already sense the soul response. She's not got soul protect on. I freakin' hope she doesn't have soul protect on." Mina said. Just as they turned a corner, something jolted Mina.

"_Oh, crap_." Mina whispered. Stitches responded.

"What is it?" Stitches asked.

"Th… There she is." Mina whispered. Stitches focused through her form and saw it. The figure of the witch. She wore a short, animal print dress and boots, and seemed quite young. Her hair was a dusty brown, and she seemed quick, agile and tough.

"Ready?" Mina whispered.

"Hi, there." Jezebel said, turning around to the girls.

"Hello." Mina said, wielding Stitches in front of her.

"Well, well, well. Shibusen's gone downhill." Jezebel asked.

"Oh, don't even go there." Mina said, charging towards the witch. She laughed slightly and leapt in the air, over Mina and behind her. She used an ability to shoot Mina forward, but Mina simply tumbled over Stitches, jumping to her feet and turning around.

"_Bitch._" Mina said, under her breath.

"I think you mean 'witch,' sweetie." Jezebel drawled. Mina smirked.

"Nope." Mina said, swinging Stitches and striking Jezebel in the side. Jezebel shrieked, crouching on the ground, and mumbled something under her breath; presumably a spell.

"Mina, watch it." Stitches said, quietly. Mina jumped backwards as claw-like structures shot from the dirt below them.

"What is that?!" Mina yelled.

"Just _run_!" Stitches yelled, Mina rushed forward, swinging Stitches around her head once to gain momentum before shoving Jezebel backwards. Jezebel coughed slightly before leaping forward, Mina falling backwards and skidding along the ground.

"Mina!" Stitches called, taking human form instinctually to protect Mina, despite the fact that it had nearly killed her some years before.

"You're just getting on my nerves, now." Mina yelled at Jezebel. Jezebel spat.

"How do you think I feel? Wait… hang on! You! The one with the grey hair!" Jezebel called. Stitches turned around and glared at the witch.

"Go on." she spat. Jezebel laughed and smirked.

"You're the kid who only got into Shibusen because of Mama and Papa, aren't you? You're the fabled Stein kid!" Jezebel laughed. Stitches growled.

"Don't even go there, lady." Stitches growled, taking her half form.

"Ooh, wow, I'm surprised you can even form! I suppose your parental reputation only gets you so far, doesn't it?" Jezebel grinned. Stitches leapt forward, ignoring Mina's cries, and smacked Jezebel ten feet backwards.

"Go on. Say something else about my parents. I dare you." Stitches snarled.

"_Shelley Yumi Stein, _you get back here and you take your weapon form _right now!_" Mina yelled, though, internally, she was extremely proud of her weapon. Stitches nodded and took form, leaping back into Mina's hands. Jezebel made her way back forward and shook her head, laughing wildly.

"Her parents mean nothing. Your mother, however…" Jezebel stared at Mina, and she stopped.

"What do you want with _my mother?!_" Mina cried.

"You met the Executioner, didn't you? He's my loyal subordinate… I've known him for centuries. He does my bidding." she grinned. Mina stopped and her grip tightened on Stitches.

"I sent him after you two. He hurt your little weapon, even though I specifically sent him orders to get you." Jezebel continued. Stitches felt something tweak in Mina's soul – she knew something.

"I figured it'd be easy to get him to kill you – like mother, like daughter."

Mina dropped Stitches to the ground.

"_Mina, no!_" Stitches screamed. It was too late, and Mina raced at the witch, charging a repelling wavelength between her palms, and without warning it flew out at Jezebel, and even she didn't have time to react before she flew backwards. Stitches raced up behind Mina, in human form once more.

"Mina, calm down! Please!" she cried.

"_She killed my mother!_" Mina screeched, almost incomprehensibly, and she charged the wavelength between her hands again as tears streamed down her face.

"Mina, you're going to _kill yourself_ if you use that wavelength again!" Stitches cried.

"_Shut up! _I don't care! I _don't care!_" she screamed, and just as Jezebel came back into sight again, she got ready to use her wavelength.

"_I am not going to lose you!_" Stitches cried out, and at the instant she half-formed she swung at Mina, knocking her off of her feet, watching the wavelength dissipate.

Through the bushes, Stitches saw that Jezebel had turned around, holding her palms parallel, and formed a ball of energy between them, shooting it towards her. The launch sent the witch flying backwards itself, and Stitches had never imagined the years of sparring with her father would become so important as she dodged the orb, diving towards Mina.

"Get up _right now!_" Stitches exclaimed. Mina flicked her head towards Stitches, a snarl on her face.

"_Shut your mouth!_ I don't want to hear you, or _anyone! _I want this witch _dead!"_

"And there's no way you're going to be able to do that without me so _pull yourself together!_"

Mina looked up at Stitches and clenched her fists, and as the weapon transformed she grabbed her. She leapt to her feet and raced into the wooded area where Jezebel was, hiding behind a tree. As Jezebel approached the other side of the tree, Mina leapt out and forced her back with Stitches, impaling her with Soul Menace in the side.

Jezebel staggered, but the Soul Menace did very little. Stitches noticed before Mina.

"_Run!_" Stitches cried out, but Mina was still wary of her environment, and she did not run. At that instant, Jezebel slammed her palms to the ground and the ground beneath them was sent into shockwaves, Mina being thrown into the air and slamming against a tree.

Stitches reacted the only way she knew how and she took her human form, leading the witch to laugh.

"What can _you_ do?" she snorted. Stitches ran at the witch, and remembered something that her father had taught her after learning she had the ability to use Soul Stitching.

_Hitting your opponent in the solar plexus will disorient them enough to allow you time to stitch them down._

Swinging her arm, Stitches did as she had been taught and Jezebel fell to the ground as if she was winded, and Stitches moved her hand as if she was throwing something, utilising the fact that she had connected with Jezebel earlier, thus able to manipulate her own wavelength inside of the witch. Dozens of stitches littered the outline of Jezebel's body. She was immobile, giving Stitches the opportunity to go over to Mina.

"_Wake up! Now!_" Stitches cried. Mina's eyes opened blearily, and she could only barely make Stitches out.

"… _awake enough… resonance… stitched to the ground… defeat her…"_

The resonance idea got through to the redhead, and she mustered the energy in her body to focus her soul on her weapon's, and within seconds, their resonance clicked and Jezebel cried out as her bonds tightened.

"You need to get up!" Stitches grabbed Mina's hand and yanked her up, but she fell limp over Stitches. Stitches shoved her back so she stood, and raising her hand, slapped Mina clean across the face. She jolted out off her disorientation and clutched at her cheek.

"What is your problem today?!" Mina cried.

"The stitching won't hold for long." Stitches' voice was frantic, and that was all Mina needed to drop any animosity and grasp Stitches in her weapon form.

Focusing their resonance even more intently, their green soul response grew to a massive size.

"_Now?_" Mina asked.

"_No, wait._" Stitches said. Mina raised an eyebrow but continued with the resonance. After a minute, Jezebel stirred and her torso and head broke from the soul stitching.

"_Now!"_ Stitches called, bracing herself as Mina began to charge.

"_Soul-Charge Wavelength, Crush-attack!" _ Mina exclaimed, jumping up with Stitches above her head.

At that exact moment, Jezebel broke from the rest of the bonds and leapt into the air, her eyes widening when she saw Mina swinging Stitches down towards her face. When the hammer hit, Jezebel's soul connected with Mina and Stitches' resonance and began to be consumed.

"_No!_" Jezebel screamed.

There was the beauty of their crushing attack. While Stitches kept their wavelength working on destroying the witch, Mina focused on the melee attack to remove Jezebel's defences.

"Stitches, _now!_" Mina called. Stitches concentrated hard and activated her healing wavelength.

"_Radiating Wavelength – attack!" _

Mina squeezed her eyes shut and kept Stitches in contact with the witch as wave after wave of Stitches' wavelength pelted her soul. Soon, in a flash of red light, the witch disintegrated, leaving behind her admittedly battered soul. Mina's eyes widened and Stitches took human form once again as they looked at each other and then back at the witch's soul.

Mina dropped to the floor.

"Mina…" Stitches raced over to her, dropping to her knees in front of her meister.

"Why did she have my mother killed?" Mina dropped her head, tears falling from her eyes. Stitches wrapped her arms around the sobbing meister and shook her head.

"I don't know." Stitches whispered. Mina sobbed into Stitches' shoulder, her breaths coming in hitching gasps.

Before Stitches could say anything further, two awfully familiar people raced over to where they were, and her head flicked up.

"Wh-What are you guys doing here?" Stitches asked, long up at her parents.

"We've been sent to bring you back. Shinigami-sama can always tell when a witch battle is over, and usually the weapon and meister need help getting back." Stein said. Stitches nodded before looking over at Mina.

"Sweetheart… she told you, didn't she?"

Mina's head whipped around to Marie, her eyes wide.

"What do you mean?" Mina asked. Marie sighed and dropped to the ground gently next to Mina.

"There's a reason Shinigami-sama sent you to defeat the Executioner and Jezebel in particular. The reason has, up until now, has only been known by your father the Deathscythes and senior meisters." Marie said, gently, and Mina's eyes widened.

"Y-You knew?" Mina trembled. Marie nodded gently. Mina looked back at Stein and he nodded as well, and tears welled in her eyes.

"We were forbidden to tell anyone – especially you." Marie said, gently. Mina took a shaky breath in, and she glanced at Marie.

"I just… why?" Tears ran down Mina's face again, and Marie wrapped her arm around her gently.

"We're going to take you back to Shinigami-sama. He's going to explain everything to you in time." Marie murmured.

"I… I'm not sure I can walk." Mina was trembling, and Marie looked up at Stein. He gave a small nod and knelt down beside Mina.

"Do you think you've broken anything in the fight?" Stein asked. Mina shook her head.

"Okay." Stein got Mina to sit up slightly and she wrapped her arm around his middle. He fixed his arm around her and helped her stand up. She took a sharp breath in before getting straight back onto her feet, a small shuddery breath escaping her lips.

"Have you got the soul?" Marie asked her daughter. Stitches took out the small container that Marie had given her back when she first started collecting souls, and she opened it. A battered purple soul hovered in front of them, and Marie smiled before Stitches put the soul back.

"I'm so proud of you. Both of you." Marie walked up so that she was beside Mina, and Stitches caught up with them. It appeared Mina had relaxed somewhat, as she glanced at the two women with a tiny smile.

"Thanks." she replied, slowly walking with Stein supporting her. Mina looked at Marie and Stitches and sighed.

"Would it be okay if you guys walked ahead a bit?" she asked quietly. Marie and Stitches glanced at each other before looking back at Mina.

"I need to say something to the Doc and I don't want anyone lording it over me." Mina said. Stitches shrugged and Marie nodded, and they walked further ahead instead of keeping pace with the slowed Mina.

"Hey, Doc?" Mina asked.

"Yes?" Stein replied. Mina sighed and glanced down before looking up at Stein.

"Thank you." she mumbled. Stein glanced at her before looking forward again.

"Why are you thanking me? I didn't defeat the witch." Stein remarked.

"Look, Doc – I got into that advanced class at elementary school by the skin of my teeth. Same as the E.A.T class. I managed two meisters as parents and received hardly any natural ability." Mina sighed.

"But you did possess some natural ability." Stein added.

"Yeah, which would've counted for a big load of nothing if I hadn't had you as a teacher." she said, and Stein glanced down at her.

"Well, you're welcome." he replied.

"You did get me into a whole lot of shit though." Mina remarked.

"How?" Stein asked.

"Everyone got pissed off at me 'cause I've known you since I was five." Mina gave a small smirk, as did Stein.

"Well, that's their own petty problem. Not yours." he replied. Mina nodded and gave a heaving sigh.

"So, yeah. Thanks." she said, a small smile on her face.

"Can we come back yet?!" Stitches called. Mina rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Stitches." she called. Stitches raced back to them, Marie waling over beside Stein as the silver-haired hammer supported Mina on the other side. Stitches looked up at Stein.

"I've got her." she said, and Stein backed away slightly, hangi

"Are you okay?" Stitches looked at Mina, and she glanced down at the ground. Stitches rubbed circles into Mina's back and rested her head against her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Mina." she murmured. Mina shook her head.

"It's not your fault. It's nobody's fault. I'm just a little shaken, is all." Mina sighed, and Stitches did the same in turn.

"But, anyway, you have bigger things to worry about, don't you, Deathscythe?" Mina asked. Stitches dropped her head and grinned. Mina slung her arm around Stitches' shoulders and smiled.

"We're so proud of you girls." Marie said, and Stein nodded, Stitches and Mina glanced at one another and couldn't help but grin.

Five years. Ninety-nine Kishin souls and one witch soul. One hell of a partnership.

"Thank you." Stitches looked up at Mina and the redhead rolled her eyes.

"You don't have to thank me. I'm just going to lord it over you forever." Mina remarked, and Stitches sighed, crossing her arms and not suppressing a smile.

**A/N: I just really like writing the Stein/Mina dynamic, okay?**

**Factoid #17: This battle was tough, but Stitches and Mina did it.**

**Originally, Mina was supposed to die in this witch battle. But, by the time I got around to writing it, Mina had developed from Stitches' meister to her best friend, Joseph's girlfriend, Thomas' friend and professional botherer of Stein. She was too integral to kill off.**


	27. Make It Official

**A/N: ****Just a little note; I've had to take some creative license regarding one thing. Not all of the weapons eat the Kishin souls, right? So, how do those who don't eat the souls (like Stitches) actually gain the power? Well, I've made up my own way. Just saying that it's not canon or anything.**

**This chapter is fairly long as well, just saying :P**

"Ceremony today." Stitches said, standing in front of her mirror in her best formal outfit, next to Mina.

"Yeah. You get to have all this power thrust upon you while everyone watches your stupid reaction." Mina smirked. Stitches sighed.

"Shut up." Stitches said.

"Enjoy your last few moments as a normal weapon." Mina said. Stitches sighed and looked in the mirror, sliding her glasses on.

"How are you healing up?" Stitches asked.

"Oh, it's been a month. It's all good now." Mina said. Stitches smiled and nodded.

"Good." Stitches said, not mentioning the fact that Mina was skirting around the revelations that came to light in the witch battle.

"It is good. My best friend's becoming a Deathscythe." Mina said.

"What about you? Three-star-meister, no less." Stitches said. Mina smirked slightly.

"For, and I quote, 'Exceptional and consistent use of a unique weapon form in all aspects of battle.'" Mina said.

"So it's because I'm a hammer?" Stitches asked, walking out the door.

"It's because you're a hammer." Mina said.

"What was it when you graduated to two-star-meister?" Stitches asked.

"Oh, that was for my creative use of you as a baseball bat, I believe." Mina said. Stitches laughed slightly.

"Of course it was." Stitches sighed.

"I'm going to rub it in your dad's face that I'm the same rank meister as he is." Mina crossed her arms.

"I'd expect no less from you, my dear. And it doesn't go any higher than three-star, anyway. He's been a three-star-meister for decades." Stitches said. Mina thought for a second, before exiting the apartment.

"Nope, don't care. Still rubbing it in his face."

* * *

"So, congratulations to our newest three-star-meister, Mina Aya West!" Shinigami-sama said. The crowd that had gathered in his office for the ceremony applauded, Mina bowing slightly and smiling widely, showing off the three-star badge she possessed. She walked over and sat down next to her teacher, Maka, and watched on as Stitches was about to have her powers bestowed on her.

"Shelley Yumi Stein, you have done Shibusen and your meister a great duty by using your unique powers for the good of our fight against Kishin. And, for your duties in joint with your meister, you are awarded the title of Deathscythe." Shinigami-sama said. He then stood in front of Stitches.

Bestowing the powers of a Deathscythe onto a weapon required all of their souls. He absorbed them and then shot the resulting wavelength into the weapon, who then, in turn, absorbed the power and ability of a Deathscythe.

Stitches took a deep breath in as Shinigami-sama pressed his hand to her back. She felt an overwhelming jolt of power as the abilities, the power, but also the responsibility was given to her through the wavelength. As Shinigami-sama removed his hand, the power surge slowly dulled and Stitches steadied herself. She felt different; stronger, smarter, more aware.

"Congratulations, Shelley." Shinigami-sama said, the crowd applauding the newest Deathscythe as her meister walked up alongside her, beaming with pride.

"And now, to give a small speech, Shelley and Mina's teacher, Maka." Shinigami-sama bounced backwards and watched as Maka walked up to the girls, hugging them both before standing before the crowd.

"Well, these two young ladies, if you know them, never fail to make a lasting impression on you." Maka said. Stitches and Mina first fistbumped before laughing slightly, as did the crowd.

"These two girls, Shelley and Mina, have been in my class for five years. Shelley, whom we all probably know better as Stitches, is the quiet, wildly intelligent and talented weapon. Mina is the unabashed, wild yet equally as intelligent and talented meister." Maka said, before she was cut off by Mina.

"I'm really not as smart as this one." Mina said. Maka smiled proudly before turning back to the crowd.

"I met Mina on her first day of school at Shibusen, four and a half years ago. I met Stitches on the first day she ever graced this planet with her presence, seventeen and a half years ago." Maka said. Stitches smiled slightly; Maka was there the night she was born.

"I knew Stitches as an individual for a long time. I watched this shy little girl grow into a beautiful young woman. I know that Stitches took a lot from her parents, Doctor Franken Stein and Marie Mjolnir, and she's eerily similar to both of them. She was quiet, modest and reserved like her father but kind and warm-hearted like her mother. Everyone that knew this Stitches loved her." Maka said.

"Having said this, I never saw the real Stitches until I saw her on the first day at Shibusen with Mina. These two talented girls bring out the absolute best in each other. They are the first weapon-meister team I've ever seen who do not argue, they do not complain, they just do what they need to and that is exactly why they're standing here." Maka said. Stitches and Mina smiled at each other.

"Enough of me rambling on here. I think the girls would like to thank some people, now." Maka said. Mina stepped forward first.

"What up?" Mina asked. The group laughed slightly and Mina smiled.

"Uh, well. Three-star-meister, hey? Not bad for a ginger." Mina smirked. The group laughed once more, Stitches rolling her eyes.

"Well, of course, I'd like to thank my father, Albert. He's a constant support and I wouldn't be here without him. I love you, Dad. Not to mention my Mama, Aya Katsuma, rest her soul. Then, I should thank Joseph, my boyfriend. He's always there when I'm having any sort of problem, usually, if he's clever, with chocolate." Mina continued.

"Next, there's Maka-sensei. She is completely and utterly inspirational to all of her students. Having created a Deathscythe herself, not to mention that teeny tiny matter of defeating the Demon God, she's got a unique insight on everything. Plus, she's married to a shinigami; you're not gonna mess with her." Mina laughed. Maka rolled her eyes and shook her head, smiling widely.

"Then, I have to thank the Doc. Doctor Franken Stein is, to most people, one of the most intimidating and powerful men they'll ever meet. However, I met him when I was five and thought he was cool because, being five, I thought he had a coat rack through his head. Anyone with a coat rack through their head is good on my terms." Mina smirked. Marie rested her head on Stein's shoulder and took his hand, smiling proudly at her daughter's meister.

"But, seriously, the Doc has taught me a lot, and helped me discover my soul menace ability, so I'm grateful to him. And, or course, Marie, everyone's favourite badass blonde who rocks an eyepatch like nobody I've ever seen before. And, without them, I'd not have the person I have to thank the most." Mina said, before taking a deep breath.

"My weapon. Stitches Stein. She's just… words cannot describe what we've been through together. We've been to Hell and back and managed to keep smiles on our faces. So, for that, I thank her. She's not only my weapon, she's my best friend in this entire world. And probably always will be. I got lucky in choosing Stitches; she's absolutely one of the most talented and gifted people I've ever met. And so, I thank her and make way for her." Mina said, turning to Stitches.

She looked somewhat embarrassed but also completely and utterly proud and honoured. She stepped forward and hugged Mina tightly before turning to the crowd.

"Uh… h-hi." she said, nervously. Mina looked over to her and gave her a reassuring smile. She took a deep breath and began to speak once more.

"In case you haven't realised, I'm not very good at these things. But I have to thank a _lot_ of people. Instead of making her feel all honoured and upset like she did me, I'll thank Mina first. Without her, I'd not be a Deathscythe. Whoa… I'm a Deathscythe." Stitches reminded herself. The crowd laughed and Stitches turned slightly red.

"Uh, of course, I have to thank my teacher, Maka. She's taught me and many others so much about everything we needed to know to get this far." Stitches said, smiling widely and turning to Maka, who was smiling widely back.

"I have to thank my Aunt Mira, who you probably know better as Naigus-sensei. She helped me through my major injury and kept me on track." Stitches smiled at the bandaged woman.

"Then, I thank Thomas. He's never let me give up. He just won't and probably never will. He means the world to me." Stitches said. Thomas smiled up in pride at his girlfriend.

"And, last of all, I've got to thank my parents. It was odd coming to a school where everybody knew my parents, some people knowing more about them than I did. But, they taught me a lot, even before I came to Shibusen. And I love them so much." Stitches took a deep breath in.

"They're always there for me, and always there to give me advice. My mother taught me compassion and care. My father taught me to be strong, to always keep my head and that I was allowed to exploit my last name for all it was worth." Stitches smiled widely.

"So, I thank you all. My meister, my friends, my teachers, my family and everyone that's helped me get here. Am I allowed to stop talking now?" Stitches asked. Maka smiled and nodded, watching as Stitches resumed her seat. Shinigami-sama bounded forward and spoke once again, in closing.

"That concludes this ceremony. Before you leave, I'd like you to congratulate once again our newest three-star-meister Mina West, and my newest Deathscythe, Shelley Stein!" Shinigami-sama said. The crowd gave a standing ovation to the two girls, who simply stood up and took it graciously.

* * *

"We're so proud of you, baby." Marie said, hugging Stitches tightly. They were at the morning tea which followed the ceremony, and Stitches and Mina were standing around with Stein, Marie, Albert, Thomas and Joseph. Oliver and Cleo had come around to congratulate their chain resonance partners, but left soon after.

"Thank you, Mama. Everyone's calling me Shelley, though. It's weird." Stitches replied. Marie smiled.

"Well, it _is_ your name, baby." Marie said. Stitches sighed and shrugged.

"I'm never going to live it down." Stitches smiled.

"And Mina, three-star-meister at eighteen, that's very impressive." Marie said. Mina smiled proudly.

"Thanks, Marie." Mina replied.

"You understand that I'll be taking full credit for your new position." Stein said. Mina turned to Stein and put her hands on her hips.

"You're just jealous that I'm the same rank as you, now." Mina said.

"I taught you everything you know." Stein said.

"I turned your daughter into a Deathscythe." Mina said.

"I helped _create_ your weapon." Stein replied.

"I'm the only reason your daughter didn't come home from school every day _crying._" Mina smirked. Stitches shook her head and stood between the two meisters.

"Okay, okay, you're both great." Stitches sighed. Mina smirked and Stitches looked up at her father.

"You're even, _right_?" Stitches asked. Stein rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Fine. Even." Stein said. Mina smirked and turned to Stitches.

"So, do you feel any different?" Mina asked.

"I don't know. A little bit." Stitches said. Mina smirked.

"I made a Deathscythe, I made a Deathscythe…" Mina sing-songed, a wide smile on both hers and Stitches' faces.

Stitches felt someone take her hand and pull her into the corridor. Before she knew it, her back was flat up against the wall and her lips were taken in a kiss. Luckily, she soon realised who it was and returned the enthusiasm.

"Hello to you too." Stitches said to Thomas.

"I told you you'd make Deathscythe within the year." Thomas said.

"Yes, yes, you were right." Stitches blushed. Thomas smiled.

"You're a Deathscythe, now." Thomas said.

"I am." Stitches said, only just starting to come to terms with the fact.

"I'm sleeping with a Deathscythe." Thomas said to himself. Stitches sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"Really? That's all you can say?" she said, suppressing a grin.

"I love you." Thomas said, quietly.

"I love you too." the silver-haired Deathscythe replied.

**A/N: Waaaahhhhhh. **

**Factoid #18: In this chapter, Mina becomes a three-star-meister.**

**It was never written how she became a two-star meister, but it happened, as Mina said, after the Kishin device retrieval in Chapter 20 of this story. Mina, Thomas and Oliver were all promoted to two-star-meisters.**


	28. Valediction and Visitation

**A/N: OH MY GOD THEY'VE GRADUATED. I FEEL EVEN WORSE NOW THAN WHEN THE ****ACTUAL** **CHARACTERS GRADUATED IN THE LAST STORY. **

"Freakin' valedictorian." Mina crossed her arms and smiled at her weapon.

"I don't know." Stitches shrugged.

"Come on. First Deathscythe, then valedictorian, next you'll be the Messiah." Mina said. Stitches laughed slightly.

"I wouldn't go that far. Though, feel free to worship me if you really need to." Stitches said before walking over to Maka, who, she noticed, was wiping tears from her eyes.

"Congratulations, Stitches." Maka smiled. Stitches smiled and couldn't help but wrap her arms around Maka, her teacher, but more importantly, the woman who was like her sister.

"Thank you, Maka-chan." she whispered. Maka held back tears as she hugged back before letting the silver-haired girl go.

"I knew you'd make Deathscythe." Maka said. Stitches smiled.

"Thank you." Stitches replied, before walking back over to her friends. At that moment, Stein and Marie walked over to Stitches, Marie hugging her tightly, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Congratulations, baby." Marie said, quietly.

"Deathscythe and valedictorian in the same year? You're the nerd of the class, aren't you?" Stein asked his daughter. Stitches glowered.

"I resent that accusation." Stitches said. Stein smirked.

"So, yes." Stein said. Stitches glowered at her father.

"Simply keeping up the family reputation, Papa." Stitches said, chuckling slightly. Stein shook his head.

"She's your daughter." Marie said. Stein smirked and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm proud to say that." Stein said. Stitches' eyes widened, turning around and looking up at her father.

"What? You're a Deathscythe at seventeen; I'm taking full acclaim for my part of the deal." Stein said. Stitches couldn't help but smile at her father.

"I love you, Papa." she said, quietly.

"I love you too." Stein replied. At that moment, a familiar dark silhouette approached, and everyone looked up.

"Shinigami-sama?" Stitches asked.

"Stitches-chan! Congratulations!" Shinigami-sama ruffled Stitches' hair, knocking her glasses askew, and she grumbled slightly.

"Anyway… Mina. If it isn't too much trouble, would you be able to come with me?" Shinigami-sama asked. Mina nodded and followed the shinigami, and she was fairly sure she knew what was going to happen – and it also answered the question of where her father was.

* * *

"Mina."

"Dad." Mina rushed towards Albert and hugged him tightly, and he returned the embrace.

"Congratulations, honey." he said, quietly, and Mina nodded.

"Thank you, Dad." she replied, before the two of them turned to Shinigami-sama.

"Mina, we understand that Jezebel informed you of her connection to the Executioner." Shinigami-sama said, and Mina took a sharp breath in and nodded.

"Is it true?" Mina asked, trying desperately not to let her voice crack with tears.

"It is. But you must understand that we needed to keep it from you - there are some secrets that Shibusen needs to keep." Shinigami-sama said. Mina looked at her father and he took her hand.

"You were three, Mina. I couldn't tell a three year old that their mother had been _murdered._" Albert said. Mina took a sharp breath in and looked back at Shinigami-sama.

"I understand, I do… why was she killed?" Mina asked, and Shinigami-sama sighed.

"We're still unsure. We believe it may have been meant for another, but Jezebel was a witch simply satisfied with hurting Shibusen in any way." Shinigami-sama's voice was subdued, and Mina turned to her father, who she could tell was holding back emotion.

"It's okay, Dad." she whispered, and Albert shook his head.

"I've had to hide this from you nearly your whole life. It's not okay." he murmured, and Mina squeezed his hand tighter.

"Mina… your mother's soul is still housed here." Shinigami-sama said, and Mina looked up at the shinigami before looking at Albert.

"I know where it is. I'll take her." Albert looked at his daughter, and she took a deep breath in before he let go of her hand. The two of them moved off the platform, down to the ground where the soul graves were situated. Mina followed Albert closely, and they could both feel it.

It was rather overwhelming for meisters who could sense souls to be on the ground. People like Stein and Maka who had very strong soul perception abilities avoided it at virtually all costs. However, familiar souls tended to jump out between the other responses, and even though she had never been to her mother's grave before nor been with her mother since her death, Mina sensed it.

"Dad." she grasped Albert's arm and he turned around, and he knew.

"It's just over here." he said, quietly, and they walked over and stopped at the exact same time. Mina turned to look down at the small plaque.

"Come here." Albert said, quietly, and he pulled her gently into his arms as she stared gormlessly at her mother's name on the grave.

"She would have been so proud of you." Albert murmured, and Mina smiled and nodded, rubbing away the tears welling in her eyes.

"Thanks, Dad." she managed, and Albert held her tighter. His daughter stood up, and she heard a small commotion behind her. Turning around, she saw Joseph, Thomas, Martha, Stitches, Stein and Marie on the platform with Shinigami-sama, and she smiled.

"You guys can't do subtle, can you?" Mina asked.

"You'd hate it if we were subtle." Joseph called, smirking. Mina sighed and turned to her mother's grave again.

"I'll have come visit more often, Mama. I love you." she murmured, and Albert rubbed circles into her back as she stood up. Mina and Albert walked back over and made their way back up onto the platform, and Mina turned to Shinigami-sama.

"I hope you understand why we didn't tell you." Shinigami-sama said, and Mina took a sharp breath in and nodded.

"I do. It's okay." Mina nodded, and Shinigami-sama threw his hands out to the sides.

"Well, congratulations on your graduation!" he cried. Mina turned to Joseph and glanced at Thomas and Stitches.

"You know, you can still come to the party if you want." Mina said. Stitches and Thomas shook their heads.

"I'm sure you're going to need Thomas to come and pick you up. We're okay." Stitches remarked. Mina grinned and shrugged.

"Okay." she replied, and as they all turned to leave, Marie glanced down at Stitches.

"Honey, if you and Thomas pick them up and they're… _intoxicated…_ bring them up to the lab. I don't want you having to deal with them by yourselves all night." Marie said. Stitches sighed and rested against her mother.

"I suppose I'll be seeing you later tonight, then." she remarked.

* * *

"Joseph is asleep on the floor of your bedroom. I put towels around him, just in case." Thomas said. Marie nodded.

"Where's Mi-"

"_Hi, guys!_" Mina exclaimed, running into the living room.

"Mina, honey…" Marie sighed. Stitches tried to get her into bed, but she struggled out of her hold.

"No!" Mina called. Stitches wrapped her arms around Mina and called out.

"Papa?" she called. Stein walked out of his lab and looked at his daughter and her best friend.

"Doc… hey! How _you_ doin'?" Mina called, drunkenly. Stein sighed and walked over to them.

"You need some help?" Stein asked. Stitches nodded and let go of Mina. Stein bent down and picked up Mina, hoisting her over his shoulder.

"This is _fun_!" Mina called, giggling inanely as Stitches followed Stein into the bathroom. Stein put Mina in the corner of the shower stall and stood back.

"Too much practice with Spirit." Stein said, turning the cold tap on full-blast. Mina shrieked.

"_Ah! What is y-you doing?! You're crazy!_" she exclaimed, looking up at Stein and Stitches.

"When she stops screaming, get her out and find somewhere for her to sleep." Stein said, walking out of the bathroom. Stitches turned to Mina, but was interrupted when Stein poked his head around the door once more.

"With a bucket." he added, before leaving. Stitches nodded and waited until Mina was sedated slightly. She then helped Mina stand up, but unfortunately, Mina decided to slump over her, soaking her through.

"Mina!" Stitches cried. After drying off her drunken friend, Stitches watched as Marie walked into the bathroom with some of Stitches' old clothes.

"Will these fit her?" Marie asked. Stitches nodded and sighed.

"Thanks." Stitches said.

"Oh, well. I'm sure you'll get around to drinking at some point. If you have your father's tolerance for alcohol, that puts you off it pretty quickly, anyway. A few drinks and your father's a bumbling fool, so…" Marie trailed off. Stitches chuckled slightly and said goodnight to her mother, before dressing Mina and getting her out on the couch.

"I… I love you." Mina hiccupped.

"I know. Now, to sleep." Stitches said, situating herself on the seat across from the couch, watching over her friend.

"I'm gonna throw up." Mina said. Stitches sighed.

"Bucket's over the side." she said. Mina threw her head over the side of the couch and retched. Stitches stood up, pulling Mina's hair out of her face and rubbing her back.

"You're an idiot." Stitches muttered, under her breath.

* * *

Stein walked into the living room, a quizzical look on his face.

"There are two teenagers in our bathroom, taking turns throwing up and pressing cold towels to their faces." Stein said.

"Ah, they're awake." Marie remarked. Stitches and Thomas were sat beside one another, and their eyes flicked up as Mina staggered out of the bathroom.

"I'm so sorry, Marie, Doc." Mina sighed, tears nearly falling from her eyes. Marie looked on sympathetically and gently hugged the redheaded girl.

"You're an adult, now. We're not going to go at you any more than the hangover is." Marie said. Mina sighed.

"Thanks for not prosecuting me." Mina said, resting her hand on the back of the couch.

"Three-star-meister, hey? You can defeat a witch but alcohol gets the best of you." Stein said. Mina narrowed her eyes.

"I'm too hungover to come up with a smartass response." Mina said.

"That's a first." Stein remarked.

"You're not my teacher, anymore, are you?" Mina asked.

"Not technically, no." Stein replied.

"Then, with the greatest respect, shut the hell up." Mina groaned. Stitches and Thomas rolled their eyes, and Mina glared at them.

"Don't smirk at me, you tee-totalling goody-two-shoeses." Mina sighed.

"It's not our fault. We didn't go to the party, we didn't get drunk and therefore we don't have to communicate over a toilet bowl." Thomas remarked.

"Shut your stupid little blonde mouth." Mina snapped, and Marie walke dup behind Mina gently placing her hand over Mina's shoulder.

"Come on. I'll get you some water and you can go into Stitches' room and lie down." Marie said, walking the redhead off.

"Is her experience from Uncle Spirit as well?" Stitches asked Stein. He shrugged in response.

"Partly. Also partly from the odd occasion where I drink. She's always fine – she can hold her liquor better than anyone else I know." Stein remarked.

"Certainly better than Mina and Joseph, that's for sure." Stitches smirked.

The four teenagers had finally graduated. Five long years of hard work and training had all paid off, and they'd finished their journeys at Shibusen. The DWMA was gone and the real world waited.

And ready or not, they were going out into it.

**A/N: I can't believe this story's nearly over.**

**Factoid #19: Mina's mother's plotline came in very late.**

**Originally, Aya wasn't going to be Mina's mother. Any similarities between them weren't intentional, and as well as that, I wasn't going to address anything about the way she died. It was actually a review that prompted me to have Aya's death be at the hands of the Executioner – but I decided for the Executioner and Jezebel to be connected.**


	29. The Blonde's Birthday

**A/N: Well, second to last chapter, hey?**

**Here we tactfully ignore the fact that Death City is in a desert and that November is in Autumn in America and that all culminates in the fact that it probably wouldn't snow at that time of year and it's snowing because I say so :P**

**Coincidentally – this chapter revolves around Thomas' birthday, but it's being published on Stitches' birthday (well, here in Australia, it's her birthday, anyway). That's right, I keep track of the birthdays of my OC's, that's how sad I am.**

"Mama?" Stitches called from the kitchen.

"Marie?!" Mina called.

"Yes?" Marie called back, walking into the kitchen. There, balancing three pots and a mixing bowl, was her daughter.

"Help?" Stitches asked. Mina was trying to help, but she couldn't. Marie took two of the pots and the mixing bowl from Stitches.

"Are you alright?" Marie asked. Stitches nodded and put one of the pots down.

"How do you do birthdays, Mama?" Stitches asked. Marie sighed.

"Willpower built up over years. Come on, I'll help." Marie said. Just then, Martha walked through the door. Everyone's families were coming over for Thomas' eighteenth birthday, and the kids were taking control.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart." Martha said. Thomas walked over to the woman and hugged her tightly.

"Thank-you, Mama. Oh, no, I-I mean, Ms Martha." Thomas coughed.

Martha looked at him, wide eyes. Thomas had never called him anything but 'Ms Martha.' He'd never associated the term 'Mama' with anything but negativity before meeting the other teenagers.

"I'm sorry." Thomas said. Martha shook her head and hugged Thomas.

"You can call me that." Martha said. Thomas smiled and hugged Martha again.

"I've got to go and help Joseph." Thomas said, leaving the apartment. Martha sighed and walked over to the kitchen, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Do you three need help?" Martha asked. Marie turned around and smiled at the woman, giving her a hug. They'd become quite good friends over their children's relationship.

"I think the girls could use a bit of help. They're a little overwhelmed." Marie said. Martha nodded and walked in between the girls.

"And how are you going, girls?" Martha smiled.

"Not bad." Stitches smiled.

"Where are the men of the house off to?" Martha asked.

"Our fathers are out getting picking some stuff up for us. The _boys_ are out making a snow army. I date the boy who keeps yelling _Die, snowman, die. _I'm so proud." Mina crossed her arms. Martha smiled slightly and Marie sighed.

"It's unusual to get snow this time of year – they have to make the most of it. They never grow up, Mina, I'm afraid." Marie sighed. Mina smirked slightly.

"I didn't think they would." Mina chuckled. Stitches shook her head and sighed.

"I think Thomas is quite mature." Stitches said. Mina snorted.

"Please. He's eighteen and gets up early on a Sunday morning to watch cartoons." Mina said. Stitches narrowed her eyes at Mina.

"_Anime_." she clarified. Mina laughed slightly and got back to the cooking. Stitches sighed and stood alongside her, helping her with the food. Marie looked over at the door as Thomas and Joseph bundled through it, red marks all over the younger blonde's face.

"Thomas, what happened to you? You were out there for five minutes!" Marie asked, standing up and walking over to the taller boy.

"Joseph pelted me with snow, that's what happened." Thomas sighed. Marie smiled slightly and looked at the boy.

"Go and put some warm water on a towel, wipe your face. It should take the sting out of those cold burns." Marie smiled warmly.

"Thanks, Ms Mjolnir." Thomas said, walking into the bathroom after shooting a glare at his offending friend. Joseph smirked and took his jacket off.

"I kick ass." Joseph said, slumping onto the couch. Marie sighed and shook her head, going back to helping the others in the kitchen.

* * *

"Seriously."

"No way!"

"You're just a giant wuss. Albert and I get along fine." Joseph remarked, chatting to the frantic blonde.

"Mr. West is not Doctor Stein!" Thomas exclaimed. Joseph smirked and grasped Thomas' shoulder.

"Should've thought of that before you started sleeping with his daughter, hey?" Joseph slapped Thomas on the shoulder and the blonde recoiled as Joseph walked away, sitting down in the living room and sprawling himself over Mina.

"Hello." he grinned. Mina returned the expression.

"Hi there." she replied. Marie, Stein and Albert were sitting nearby, and Marie posited a question to Albert.

"How do you get along with Joseph?" she asked. Albert scratched his chin before crossing his arms.

"We get along just fine. I mean, the kid's no angel, but what do you expect? They're just that – kids. That meister of his is about as virtuous as they come." Albert remarked. Marie looked at Stein, who crossed his own arms and nearly pouted, such was his disagreement.

"He's no saint." Stein retorted, and Albert sat forward, open and earnest.

"Don't think I don't know what it's like." Albert remarked, but Stein remained guarded.

"And don't think you can scare me with your dissection doctor business, either." he added, and Stein looked at him.

"Mina's my little girl. Hell, she's all I've got. But you've gotta let it go. Eventually you've got to realise that your little girl isn't always going to be little." Albert said. Stein sighed and pushed his glasses over the bridge of his nose.

"You should listen to him, Franken." Marie smiled at Stein before giving the same expression to Albert. Stein remained silent. Marie sighed and frowned, but Albert gave a warm smile and shook his head.

"It's alright, Marie. It took me a while with Mina and Joseph, too. Hell, I heard Stein talked to the kid when he found out they'd done the deed." Albert remarked.

"Talked to, threatened to castrate, there's a fine line." Marie sighed, shaking her head.

"I wouldn't even look at the kid. And then he came and talked to me, and I realised that my daughter had chosen him for a reason. And it was pretty great." Albert said. Marie nodded and glanced over at Thomas, who was standing out on the small balcony.

"I don't think that's much of an option for Thomas. He's so shy." Marie sighed. Albert nodded.

"Don't I know it - I took him and Mina to a meister camp once – he didn't talk the whole time." Albert remembered, a small laugh accompanying his memory.

"He's anxious, but he's so very sweet." Marie smiled. Albert nodded.

"Mina gets so worried for the kid." Albert sighed, and Marie tilted her head to the side.

"You raised Mina well, Albert. She's a remarkable young woman." Marie told him. He shook his head and sighed.

"That's not my parenting, that's Aya's genetics, rest her soul. She's just like her mother." Albert remarked. Marie sighed and reached instinctually forward for Albert's hand.

"Aya was a wonderful, amazing woman. But I see you in Mina. I see Mina in you." Marie smiled, and Albert smiled back.

"How does a kind woman like you live with a sourpuss like him?" Albert remarked, smirking in Stein's direction. Stein glared daggers at him. Albert stood up and walked past Stein.

"Not gonna scare me, buddy." Albert had the nerve to muss Stein's hair as he walked past, successfully making the doctor feel as if he was five. He glared at Marie, who was desperately trying to to laugh.

"I'm sorry." she managed. Stein sighed and Marie smiled softly at him.

"You can't be mad. It's Thomas' birthday – if there's one day of the year where you can relent, it's today." Marie remarked. After a minute of pondering, Stein sighed and nodded.

"Fine." he relented. At that moment, their daughter's meister came bounding up behind them.

"Dinner is ready, if you get food poisoning, it's Stitches' fault, see you in a minute!" Mina disappeared as fast as she had arrived, and Stein and Marie looked at one another. Stein smirked and Marie grinned – the kids may have been growing up, but they were still relatively carefree.

* * *

"Well, we did it." Mina smirked.

"Thank you, everyone." Thomas said, looking around the room.

"You did a good job, you guys." Marie said. Stein sat down on the couch, next to Stitches. Stitches took a deep breath in and leant against her father.

"Papa…" Stitches sighed, closing her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Stein asked.

"I don't know. I didn't even eat that much." Stitches sighed, curling up slightly. Thomas had received all of his gifts, but due to the fact that it was still not quite late enough to leave, the group of people all sat around in the warmth of the apartment.

"Well, we should ask Thomas, no? How was your birthday celebration?" Martha asked.

"I think it was great." Thomas smiled and looked over at Martha and then at Stitches.

"Is she…?" Thomas asked Stein. Stein nodded.

"Fast asleep." Stein said. Mina sighed and stood up.

"Come on, Stitches. Bedtime." Mina said, grabbing Stitches' hand and pulling her off of Stein.

"I don't wanna. I wanna stay with _Papa._" Stitches moaned in her half-asleep stupor.

"Please tell me someone's filming this." Joseph remarked, smirking. Mina shook her head and sighed, squeaking slightly when Stitches leant all of her weight on her shoulder.

"Help!" Mina exclaimed. Marie stood up and placed her hand on Stitches' back, transferring her from Mina's shoulder to hers.

"Come on, baby." Marie said.

"It's only nine-thirty. Is she okay?" Joseph asked. Mina looked over at him.

"She's been lethargic all day. I don't think she's well." Mina said, quietly.

"Really?" Joseph asked. Mina sighed and nodded her head, her expression solemn. Meanwhile, Marie was off trying to get Stitches into bed.

"Mama… I feel funny." Stitches said.

"You're almost eighteen years old, and I'm still putting you to bed." Marie sighed.

"I'm sorry…" Stitches said. Marie smiled and shook her head.

"Believe it or not, I'm okay with it." Marie said, pulling Stitches' covers up over her shoulders. Stitches sighed.

"I love you, Mama." Stitches mumbled.

"I love you too, baby." Marie said, kissing her daughter on the forehead and walking out of the room, shutting the door. She sighed and leant against the wall, composing herself before walking back out into the living room.

"She's out of it." Marie smiled. Stein stood up and walked over to Marie, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"We going to go?" Stein asked. Marie nodded before turning to the rest of the group.

"Well, happy birthday, Thomas." Marie smiled warmly. Thomas nodded and smiled back and watched as Stein and Marie walked out of the apartment. Albert left soon after, Martha leaving the teenagers last.

"Thank you so much, guys." Thomas said. As Joseph went to respond, they heard one door open and another door slam. Thomas automatically jumped to his feet, as did Mina.

"I've got it." Thomas said, walking off and pressing his ear to the bathroom door.

Thomas heard the sickening retching sounds from behind the door. This would deter most people, but his girlfriend needed help.

He opened the door to see Stitches, her head hung over the toilet bowl. She spat and flushed the toilet as she looked up at Thomas through weary golden eyes.

"Are you okay?" Thomas asked. Stitches smirked slightly and pulled herself up on the basin.

"Tell me I'm pretty." Stitches said, filling up the small cup by the sink and rinsing out her mouth. Thomas smirked and walked behind Stitches, rubbing her back.

"Always." Thomas replied. Stitches sighed and took a deep breath in.

"Yeah." Stitches said, quietly. Thomas ever-so-subtly addressed the elephant in the room.

"Please tell you you're not pregnant." Thomas asked. Stitches looked up at Thomas, glancing to the floor.

"Well… I am a bit late…" she trailed off, and Thomas' eyes widened. She then proceeded to hit him in the arm.

"No, I'm not pregnant, you idiot." she snapped, and Thomas gave just about the biggest sigh of relief Stitches had ever seen.

"Contrary to what movies and TV say, women can throw up and _not_ be pregnant. You're not _that_ good." Stitches smirked. Thomas sighed and shook his head.

"I'm pretty damn good." Thomas remarked. Stitches rolled her eyes.

"That'd be a bit much of a birthday surprise. Especially considering the fact that my father _would_ then _definitely_ kill you." Stitches said, beginning to brush her teeth. Thomas sighed and rested his head on her shoulder.

"So, you've got a stomach bug, hey?" Thomas asked. Once Stitches had finished brushing her teeth, she spat the toothpaste out into the sink.

"It would appear so." Stitches said. Thomas smiled slightly.

"Come on, let's get you into bed." Thomas said.

"Not the first time I've heard that." Stitches smirked. Thomas sighed and shook his head.

"You are terrible, Miss Stein." Thomas said. Stitches smiled slightly and leant against Thomas as he moved her over to her room, sitting her back on the bed.

"You feeling better?" Thomas asked, pulling the covers half over Stitches.

"Mmhm." Stitches said, turning over and curling up next to Thomas. Thomas sighed and pulled Stitches' hair out of her face.

"Thank you for today, Stitches." Thomas said. Stitches smiled and sighed, pulling Thomas to lie down with her. Thomas sighed and kicked off his shoes, pulling his legs into the bed.

"It was my pleasure. Happy birthday, Thomas." Stitches whispered, pulling her head to Thomas' chest. He smiled slightly and wrapped his arms around Stitches' shoulders. Mina poked her head around the doorframe and smiled, walking into the room.

"No funny business, you two." Mina sighed, sitting in her own bed.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Thomas remarked. Mina smirked slightly.

"Not while you're awake, anyway." he finished. Mina gasped slightly and threw a pillow at Thomas' head.

"Right back at you." Thomas said. Mina raised an eyebrow.

"Wha-_oof!_" Mina exclaimed as Thomas threw the pillow back at her.

"Geez, Thomas, when did you get so strong?" Mina asked. Thomas smirked and laid back down, wrapping his arms firmly around Stitches' waist, pulling her hair back to nuzzle in between her shoulder and neck.

"Mmm… hello." Stitches whispered.

"Hi." Thomas replied, quietly.

"You're gonna get my bug." Stitches replied.

"Don't care." Thomas replied before being hit in the back of the head by a pillow.

"Still awake, guys. Still awake." Mina announced.

**A/N: My OC's: They're my babies :)**

**Factoid #20: Originally, this chapter was a Christmas chapter, but it made my timeline too squashed up and so I changed it to Thomas' birthday.**

**But, still on Christmas - When writing celebrations in any **_**Soul Eater**_** fic, it's difficult, because of religious holidays and whatnot. Shinigami-sama is their god, but there are some things that I didn't want to tamper with that I just didn't put into the story. For example – It has been alluded to and mentioned on some occasions, and yet it is rarely explicitly stated – Spirit and Azusa are Stitches' godparents.**


	30. The World Awaits

**A/N: Well, we come to the end of a ****third**** story. I love you guys. Some of you have been here since we first started this series, some of you have jumped on the bandwagon as we've gone along. Whenever you got here, I want to say thank you. I love to write, and it's nice to know that I can write for you guys.**

Despite the fact that it was nearly the end of November when the Deathscythe assignments finally came out, it had arrived quicker that Stitches had expected it to.

The newest, silver-haired Deathscythe assembled with the rest of the Deathscythes that were available - Soul, Tsubaki, Justin, Azusa, Marie and Spirit - in Shinigami-sama's office. Even though most of them wouldn't change positions, the new assignment of Stitches meant that they turned up.

"Deathscythes." Shinigami-sama said. The seven of them all nodded and Shinigami-sama spoke up again.

"Alright, the assignments for all of you." he said.

Soul kept his North American position, as did Azusa hers and Justin his. Tsubaki took over the Oceania position from Azusa, though technically taking over from Marie, who was still the official Oceanian Deathscythe. Spirit was still assigned to Death City duties and duties in the surrounding areas.

"Stitches, your assignment." Shinigami-sama said. Stitches looked up.

"Yes, sir?" Stitches asked.

"You will start sharing the workload with Spirit-kun. If any special missions arise which require the services of two Deathscythes, you may be sent out." Shinigami-sama said. Stitches smiled widely.

"Around the world?" Stitches asked. Shinigami-sama chuckled.

"I should think so, yes." Shinigami-sama said. Stitches pushed her glasses up over the bridge of her nose and stood up straight.

"Of course, sir." she replied.

"Now, Marie, your retirement." Shinigami-sama said. Her posture fell and her eyes widened as she turned to her mother.

"Excuse me?" Stitches butted in. Marie sighed and turned to face Stitches.

"Baby, I'm getting older. Battle is more difficult and it's harder for me to recover. I'll stay a Deathscythe, I can still fight if I'm needed, but I shouldn't be. Plus, you and I have the same form. I'm pretty much obsolete." Marie said. Stitches shook her head.

"You're not obsolete, Mama." Stitches said. Marie smiled slightly.

"You've got my wavelength. You've got everything under control. Plus, I'm still here to help you with whatever you need." Marie said. Stitches sighed and looked at Shinigami-sama.

"Can I hug her?" Stitches asked. Shinigami-sama chuckled slightly.

"Of course." he said. Stitches walked past three Deathscythes in order to hug her mother. Any chances of beginning her run as a Deathscythe with a badass, no-nonsense reputation dissipated in her wake as she wrapped her arms around Marie.

"Sorry." Stitches said, returning to her spot in line.

"No, no. It's fine." Shinigami-sama said.

"Okay. Marie, I trust that you still want to continue teaching at Shibusen, is that right?" Shinigami-sama asked. Marie nodded.

"You're going to have to drag me out of there kicking and screaming." Marie said.

"Alright, then. Glad to still have you on our team. Deathscythes, you are dismissed." Shinigami-sama said. The Deathscythes all dispersed, Stitches walking alongside Marie.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Stitches asked.

"I figure you had enough to worry about. You started by moving out into another apartment with Mina, then your first Deathscythe assignment, not to mention the fact that you're doing this and you're not even eighteen. You didn't need to worry about it." Marie said. Stitches sighed.

"But, you're still going to teach. Which is good." Stitches said.

"What about you and Thomas? It's not too difficult for you now that you're not living together?" Marie asked. Stitches smiled.

"They just live down the corridor, Mama. And he sleeps over nearly every second night." Stitches said.

"Oh, _sleeps over._ That's what they're calling it nowadays?" Marie asked. Stitches very nearly pouted at her mother.

"Shush." Stitches laughed slightly. Marie smiled.

"I'm glad you're doing okay, baby. And, if you need anywhere to stay, your room is always open at the laboratory." Marie said. Stitches smiled.

"Thanks, Mama." Stitches said. At that moment, two of Marie's former students and now Stitches' fellow Deathscythes came to walk either side of her.

"Good to have you on the team, Stein." Soul remarked. Stitches smiled and shrugged.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask us." Tsubaki smiled, and Stitches nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind." she replied, and the white-haired scythe beside her slung his arm over her shoulder.

"So, you're stuck with old man Albarn. I got that assignment when I started too. At least you're not gonna get the whole _my Maka turned you into a Deathscythe and she can turn you right back if you don't do your job_ rant. Consider yourself lucky." Soul grinned, and Stitches laughed.

"Uncle Spirit's… _intense_, but he's really very nice." Stitches replied.

"We just don't see eye-to-eye on some things. Or anything, really. But I think I have a few more years of dealing with him under my belt than you, kid." Soul remarked, and Stitches sighed.

"Apparently I hit him in the face with a rattle when I was about six months old and thought it was hilarious." Stitches replied. Soul scratched his chin and nodded.

"Impressive. You and I are gonna get along just fine, I think." Soul stated.

"Don't listen to him. He's delusional." Tsubaki said, and Soul clicked his tongue.

"What about you? You're all frazzled 'cause your kids are starting here next year – my godchildren, may I remind you?" Soul asked. Tsubaki sighed.

"I'm a frazzled mother and I'm still more level-headed than you." Tsubaki replied, and Soul laughed.

"Where's all this comin' from, huh? You must be forgetting that you love me, Tsubaki." the white-haired scythe grinned, and Stitches laughed at the banter.

"You're going to be just fine, Stitches. Just watch out – now that your mother's retired, I'm sure all of Soul's _hammer time _jokes will be directed towards you." Tsubaki told her. Stitches shrugged.

"It's okay. I've been dealing with those for a long time." Stitches replied.

* * *

"She _retired _and didn't tell you?" Mina asked, brushing the toast crumbs from her shirt. Stitches nodded, sprawling out on the couch in their significantly larger apartment.

"Yeah. I mean, I respect her decision, but still." Stitches said. Mina nodded.

"Fair enough." Mina said. Stitches sat up and sighed.

"Where's Thomas?" Mina said. Stitches' eyes widened.

"He's not over." Stitches said. Just then, a tall, blonde man wearing nothing but pyjama bottoms walked out of Stitches' bedroom. Mina turned around and chuckled.

"You guys don't have to lie to me. I get it; you're sleeping together." Mina said. Stitches sighed and walked over to Thomas, kissing him gently on the lips before leaning on the kitchen counter.

"We can be open about these things. Like me and Joseph; we do it. We did it on that counter that you're leaning on." Mina said. Stitches squealed and jumped away from the counter, running to the bathroom.

"Where are you going?" Thomas asked.

"To soak my hands in bleach. Or acid. Or both." Stitches sighed. Thomas sighed and clicked his tongue.

"Don't get indignant with me, Thomas. Death only knows what you two get up to." Mina remarked.

"That'd be weird. I really don't want him knowing what goes on. And we don't have sex in the kitchen!" he exclaimed.

"Why are you so disgusted? It's not like we got kinky with the toaster!" she exclaimed.

"Mina, I'm pretty sure half the apartment block just heard you shout _kinky with the toaster_." Thomas replied.

"I heard you yell _kinky with the toaster._" Stitches walked out of the bathroom, and Mina sighed.

"Can we please stop saying_ kinky with the toaster?_" Mina asked. The three heard the door shut and turned to see Joseph.

"Who's kinky with the toaster?" he asked.

"Stop saying it! It was a lapse in judgement and I'm sorry." Mina crossed her arms, and Joseph smirked.

"Are you really in your pyjamas?" Stitches asked. Joseph nodded and mussed his hair.

"I want to hit you right now. I had to get up at _six_ for a Deathscythe meeting. _Six!"_ Stitches exclaimed.

"Yeah, Tom, don't bother about the whole Deathscythe thing. I'll be right." he remarked. Stitches crossed her arms and walked towards Joseph, smacking his in the arm.

"Aw, I love you too." Joseph wrapped his arms around Stitches before she had time to react and he leant down, rubbing his cheek against her.

"You need to shave." she remarked. Joseph stopped and glanced sideways.

"It's stubble. It's rakish." he remarked.

"It's awful and if you don't shave it off I'm not going to have sex with you." Mina remarked.

"Yeah, you're right, Stitches, I do need to shave." Joseph nodded and Stitches rolled her eyes, stepping away from the pistol.

"You're an idiot." she remarked.

"And your best weapon friend. What does that say about you?" Joseph asked. Stitches sighed and stood beside Thomas, pressing her hands to his cheeks.

"Good. You're fine." she remarked.

"Tom doesn't grow facial hair, don't be stupid." Joseph remarked.

"I do so grow facial hair!" he replied, indignantly.

"Your face is like a baby's butt." Joseph remarked. Thomas frowned and crossed his arms.

"Don't get pouty with me." Joseph stated, and it only made the blonde scowl further. Stitches sighed and wrapped her arms around Thomas' midsection.

"You ignore him." she mumbled. Thomas sighed and sat up straighter.

"It's alright. I'm taller than him." Thomas replied, and that comment made Joseph cross his arms.

"Did my baby get a taste of his own medicine, huh?" Mina asked. and Joseph sighed.

"Gotta love your support." he replied. Mina sighed and leant against the counter, and Thomas glanced at her, eyebrow raised.

"Now, Mina, what did you say you were going to do again? While Stitches does all her Deathscythe business?" Thomas asked, and Mina shrugged.

"I don't know. They were asking for people to help with sparring down at Shibusen, you know, first years." Mina said. Stitches rolled her eyes.

"You just want to beat up little kids, don't you?" Stitches asked. Mina sighed.

"Little bit." Mina said.

"Of course, sweetie." Stitches laughed slightly.

"Of course, I have to do this alongside my three-star-meister duties." Mina said, looking at Thomas, who had recently made three-star meister as well.

"I'll take them up once we get this witch debacle out of the way." Thomas said, resting his head on his hand.

"You guys'll be fine. Joseph's really excited about it." Mina said.

"Yeah, I'm so looking forward to getting up at six, it's going to be super." Sarcasm dripped form Joseph's words and Mina crammed the remainder of her toast in his mouth.

"He's super excited." Thomas laughed.

"I'm going to be worried sick while you're gone." Stitches said. Thomas smirked.

"Well, you're going to have Ms Martha to comfort." Thomas said. Stitches nodded.

"I'll look after her." Stitches said. Joseph had finally finished the toast and could talk.

"Will you miss me?" he asked Mina, and she sighed and nodded.

"Course I will. But, I should be able to keep it together. I'm a mature adult now." Mina said. Stitches raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, right." Stitches said. Mina crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"I am, and because I'm so mature, I'm not even going to argue with you. Plus, it doesn't matter now. We're out on our own." Mina said. Stitches sighed and sat back.

Mina was right; they were on their own.

Sure, they had a big support group, and they would be there for as long as they could be, but they were fending for themselves in the big wide world.

Stitches had her Deathscythe duties and Mina had her Shibusen and three-star-meister obligations. No doubt, Joseph and Thomas would soon be in their position, with their witch being monitored and her position known.

She had Mina; the strong, feisty, full-of-life girl who had known Stitches most of her life. Goodness knows what they would get up to now that Shibusen student obligations were out the window.

Then there was Thomas; her anxious yet ever-thoughtful boyfriend. He'd follow her to Hell and back and support her the whole time. Only time would tell how their relationship would develop.

There was Joseph; her fellow weapon, the one that, despite his stubbornness, she could talk to about a lot of things. Weapons were one in the same; they were all pretty close.

She, of course, had her parents. Stein and Marie would stand by their daughter, no matter what happened. They'd stand by her with a healthy dose of advice and sound thinking.

"We're going to have a lot of fun." Mina smirked.

"And have a lot of responsibility." Thomas added.

"We're going to be fine." Stitches smiled.

**A/N: I hope to see you back for my next story! Story four will be the final story in the Stitches series, and it'll be called **_**One Last Stitch**_**. Keep an eye out for it! Many things will happen in the final story – there will be a birth, a death, a retirement, a marriage – and Shibusen's going to reveal a whole lot of secrets. **

**And our final factoid for **_**All Stitched Up!**_

**Factoid #21: In case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit of a wordsmith.**

**Wonderful phrases that I've come up with in the three stories are things such as **_**damn crafty sperm, special lady business, **_**and the aforementioned **_**kinky with the toaster.**_** It may not surprise you that these phrases were formulated after 3am. Also – **_**thwack**_** is a really cool word. A derivative of the word has been used in all three stories, and will be used in the fourth – in the first story, Stein does it, in the second it's Marie, in the third it's Mina and in the fourth it will be Stitches. It's a great word. **

**Thank you all for the support – and I'll hopefully see you back for the home stretch!**


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